MVN: Most Valuable Network

On the heels of Zach Hayes' 2009 Free Agent Checkup comes news that pitcher Kenshin Kawakami wants to play for the Red Sox next year. (And should he be posted, "Dice-K 2.0" Yu Darvish has his eye on either Boston or New York.) This is undoubtedly because of the recent success of the Red Sox and the integration of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, raising the profile of the Red Sox in Japan much like the profile of the team was raised in the Dominican Republic when Pedro pitched.

The to-be 33 year old draws comparisons to Hiroki Kuroda, and might have received a similar contract had he been able to qualify for free agency last year. Kawakami has a weaker fastball than Kuroda, but his track record is solid. Kuroda is 1-2 with a 3.59 ERA in eight starts for the Dodgers this year.

In the off-season, MLB Trade Rumors ranked the top five Japanese pitchers who could move to the majors, and Kawakami was second:

Japan's highest paid starter for the champion Chunichi Dragons (he made around $3MM) mixes a fastball, cutter, and curveball. His fastball runs around 87 and his curve is very slow. He's known as a big game pitcher and always challenges hitters. He was 12-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 2007, but the K/BB ratio was an appealing 6.3 in 167 2/3 IP. He's a HR prone strikeout pitcher. Kawakami has been healthy for the past four seasons.

Kawakami has a no-hitter to his credit and a career line of 103-67 in 1,525 innings, posting a 3.29 ERA, 1,216 Ks and 326 walks. Read Kawakami's history here.

Next year, the Red Sox's rotation looks to shape up as Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield and Clay Buchholz with Justin Masterson as the backup. Pending Wakefield's retirement, Kawakami could indeed find himself pitching for Boston next year.