MLB Rumors: Price Tag For Kodai Senga Has Soared Since deGrom/Verlander Signings

As free agent pitchers continue to come off the board, Japanese star Kodai Senga is drawing plenty of interest from major league teams as a more-than-enticing option. Being a relatively unknown quantity on the major league market, it's surprising to hear that his earning power has soared over the $20M per year mark. That's the word from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

.@Feinsand covers the two Japanese stars - Masataka Yoshida and Kodai Senga - as they look to pursue MLB opportunities this offseason 👀#MLBTonight | @StephenNelson pic.twitter.com/WVFDYIohb3

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 7, 2022

"He's very, very high on a lot of people's lists," says Feinsand. "The market for Senga has picked up a lot, from what I'm told, since (Jacob) deGrom and (Justin) Verlander came off the board. The fact that he does not have a qualifying offer attached to him the way that (Carlos) Rodon, (Chris) Bassitt and Nate Eovaldi do, certainly is appealing.

"The way that teams are talking about him... I think he's going to be somewhere in the $20Ms (AAV)."

He lists the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers as suitors for Senga. And we can add the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays to that list of interested teams as well.

Senga has a 2.59 ERA over 11 seasons in the Nippon League, with a 1.11 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. The right-hander is a 6-time Japan Series champion, and his stipulation is going to an MLB team that's in a big market, and is ready to win.