Inbox: What should fans know about Tazawa?

Do you have any thoughts on Junichi Tazawa? I know nothing about him besides looking at his stat line. — @rainman101213 via Twitter

The Marlins will be counting on Tazawa, now 30, bouncing back after he posted a 4.17 ERA in 49 2/3 innings with the Red Sox in 2016.

Tazawa, who, according to a source, agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal on Thursday, will become the second Japanese player ever signed by the Marlins. Ichiro Suzuki, of course, is the first. Ichiro and Tazawa will now be teammates.

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The right-hander has appeared in at least 53 games in four straight seasons. There is some concern about him wearing down, but his fastball velocity was not an issue last year. Per Statcast™, his average four-seam fastball was 93.27 mph, slightly above league average.Tazawa has almost as many strikeouts as innings pitched in his career — 308 K’s in 312 innings. He fanned 54 in 49 2/3 innings last season.

I see Tazawa as a candidate to pitch either the seventh or eighth inning, in the mix with David Phelps and Kyle Barraclough.

@JoeFrisaro Do you think the Marlins losing out on Jansen was a blessing or a curse?

— CK (@CkilNYC) December 14, 2016

@JoeFrisaro Do you think the Marlins losing out on Jansen was a blessing or a curse?

After the fact, it is easy to say it was a blessing. Kenley Jansen went back to the Dodgers, which many expected. From the Marlins’ standpoint, they didn’t have to make the more than $80 million investment. Additionally, they retain the 13th overall pick in the 2017 Draft. Because Jansen declined a $17.2 million qualifying offer, the Dodgers would have received a compensation pick.

If you look at simply 2017, and where the Marlins are …

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