Kohei Arihara chose the Rangers because he believes in the team’s plan, himself

The Rangers’ recruitment of Kohei Arihara provides good insight into what the Rangers like about him: He doesn’t have a fear of the unknown.

When he agreed to a two-year deal with the Rangers over the winter, the 28-year-old Japanese right-handed starter hadn’t been inside Globe Life Field in Arlington to be wowed by the new facilities. Heck, he hadn’t so much as stepped foot inside the state.

Here is what he knew: The Rangers were presenting him a chance to pitch in the middle of the rotation and a detailed plan on how he could best attain his goal of MLB success. He didn’t need to hear anything more about clubhouse amenities, lack of state income tax, the team’s short-term chances or the state of the power grid.

The plan – combined with his own belief – was enough.

“In the meetings I had with the Rangers their analysis was phenomenal,” Arihara, through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara, said Thursday after his first official bullpen of spring training at the club’s Surprise, Ariz., camp. “I thought that if I would if I can continue to practice what they presented to me on this team, I can grow as a person and a player. That made me decide to play for them.”

In short, the plan was big on challenging himself and embracing new things, like more usage of a four-seam fastball to the upper reaches of the strike zone. Combined with a splitter and changeup that act similarly, the Rangers feel Arihara could optimize his performance.

The Rangers also relayed their feeling that Arihara could be a big innings eater for a staff that is relatively low on experience. It makes some sense. In a year when no MLB pitcher reached 100 innings, Arihara pitched 132 innings for the Nippon Ham Fighters. He ranked 32nd on the planet in innings in 2020.

He embraced both ideas.

“We’re pretty fortunate to have him having thrown so many innings,” manager Chris Woodward said. “But we also know he’s got a lot to prove. There is going to be a learning curve there. But we feel like with his stuff, his makeup and his ability to make changes and adjust on the fly, he made himself very successful in Japan. I think that’s what we’re expecting here.”

To be sure, there are challenges. Arihara is not an overpowering pitcher. He has relied primarily on his sinker, splitter and changeup, so using more four-seamers will be a big step into the unknown. The splitter, in particular, is a pitch in which grip is key, and there are big differences between the tackiness of Japanese ball and the one used by MLB. In short, more stickiness makes it easier to maintain the grip.

The Rangers sent Arihara a batch of MLB baseballs after he signed so he could start to work on the grip. To this point, he said he feels like both the fastball and splitter have “released” a little earlier than he’d prefer.

Also, there is the workload. The Rangers are short on innings, for sure. But counting on inning from a pitcher in his first season of the transition from Japan to the majors can be risky. Over the last 15 years, the eight starting pitchers who have arrived from Japan have averaged 164 innings in their first major league season. Seven of them, however, had at least one 200-inning season in Japan. Arihara’s top season was 180 innings in 2017.

In Japan, there is also more time to recover. Pitchers rarely pitch on four or five days of rest. Over the last two seasons, Arihara made 42 of his 44 starts on at least six days of rest. The Rangers will use some combination of scheduled off days and perhaps a non-traditional rotation setup to better manage the rest for Arihara. But something has to give: More rest means fewer innings; less rest potentially results in diminished returns.

“I’ve pitched some on five days rest, so I’ve got a vague image of what it will be like,” Arihara said. “I know it will be a long season. I will get tired towards the end, I’m sure. But I want to communicate with my teammates and my coaching staff to minimize the stress level on my arm so I can perform at the highest level.”

Said Woodward: “Those are all things that we’re keeping an eye on. We’re going to keep an eye on his performance, but also how he handles four days and five days. We’re going to give him extra days at time. We’re going to watch his body, see how his stuff is coming out. But I do foresee him pitching a lot.”

That’s the challenge. A lot about is unknown. What is certain, though, is Arihara embraces it.

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