Lions sign extension with Nevin through 2027

 

The Saitama Seibu Lions entered the interleague makeup week with a significant transaction.  

They announced on Monday morning they've signed Tyler Nevin to a two-year extension through the 2027 season. 

"With his strong hitting, solid defense, and dedication and leadership, he is an indispensable player for the Lions right now, and we have determined that he will be an (important) for next season and beyond, Lions General Manager Koji Hiroike said in a statement. 

"We are very happy that we were able to reach an agreement on his contract at such an early stage. We hope that he will play an active role as a central player for the Lions for a long time.'

Nevin, 28, won the Pacific League MVP for the month of May. It was a month where the Lions swept the awards as Tatsuya Imai won the same award for a pitcher.  

The Lions have used Nevin to hit at the top of the order from the third spot to even going in cleanup. 

While not a traditional foreign power hitter with only five home runs, Nevin has contributed in more ways than none by hitting doubles and playing great defense at first base. 

For having fewer whiffs and making decent contact, something the Lions gave lacked, it has kept the team competitive after coming off a last place 2024. 

This is the first time a Lions foreign player has been guaranteed three years since Zach Neal was under contract from 2019-2021.  

Ernesto Mejia was with the Lions from 2014-2021. However, his role diminished from 2017 until he asked to be released in the middle of 2021. 

In a very tight and competitive Pacific League, the Lions finished interleague play with a 10-8 record to be 37-31 through June 22. 

They currently sit in 4th place, just 0.5 games outside of A-class behind the SoftBank Hawks. 

Several things have needed to go right in order to have a winning record and Nevin is a reason for this.  

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Ryusei Sato traded

When the series with the Chunichi Dragons concluded, the Lions agreed to send infielder Ryusei Sato to the opposition for cash. 

In a strange cycle where Sato was once traded to Fighters only to come back to the Lions and have a promising 2023, he fell out of favor in 2025. 

This is the second time a Lions player was traded mid season for cash following Kakeru Yamanobe to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. 

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2025 Seibu Lions Digest: Panic button?

 

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The Saitama Seibu Lions had a winning month of May at 13-11, but they started off the first week of interleague play with a 2-4 record against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Hiroshima Carp riding a four-game losing streak.  

It was the first time being swept in a three-game series since Opening Weekend against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  

With the recent losing, they sit in B-class behind the SoftBank Hawks in 4th place due to percentage points.  

Lions are fortunate up to this point

Last season, the Lions were a complete failure in one-run games. Through June 8, they sit at a 12-6 record in this situation and this could mean things catch up to them.  With Sunday's 10-0 loss to close out the series in Hiroshima, the Lions run differential is now +2.  

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Offense is improved from 2024, but may not be enough for A-class

The Lions went from horrible to now several steps below average on hitting. Manaya Nishikawa has been promising, but slowed down. 

Seiya Watanabe remains out with injury and has already missed more than 20 games total with weeks away from the ichi-gun roster. They try to make up for it with stolen bases, but going over aggressive in running could come back to bite. 

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Lack of ties in extra innings could come back to hurt

The Lions are one of two Pacific League teams to not have a stalemate in their record.  Four of those losses on the road were walkoffs and in extra innings with one of them even reaching the 12th. 

They've had their share of wins at home, but being clutch has become an issue the longer the game goes when away.

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The mixed bag of imports

With the Lions being the worst Pacific League team in 2024, they were forced to make several foreign signings and it's looking average as a whole. Leandro Cedeño has been a disappointment with a stint off the ichi-gun.  

Tyler Nevin plays great defense and similarly compared to David MacKinnon having a lack of power hitting. Yet he does his part in the lineup. 

Trey Wingenter has been the setup man and mostly reliable.  However, the Lions don't trust Emmanuel Ramirez to take meaningful innings as he's down to mop up duties. 

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Cedeño's lack of presence has caused no power threats

The leader in home runs for 2024 was a tie between part time veteran Takeya Nakamura and Shuta Tonosaki with seven. As long as Tyler Nevin is healthy, he will likely hit at least 10 HRs, but the lack of team pop remains, an issue since Hotaka Yamakawa was suspended in 2023. 

Only question is, do the Lions give up on Cedeño? It's not looking good.

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Slow start for Takeuchi, but rotation is fine. 

Natsuki Takeuchi, the reigning Pacific League rookie of the Year, has been off to a rough beginning after returning from an offseason injury. He was the culprit for why the Carp broke the game open on Sunday.

The stars in Chihiro Sumida and Tatsuya Imai have had nearly no trouble while the rotation has had good value from Yutaro Watanabe and Shinya Sugai. 

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Bullpen regulars have been established

The aforementioned Wingenter has taken the 8th inning, but Fumiya Nishiguchi has used Haruto Yamada and Hiroshi Kaino for the 6th or 7th innings as the bridge to eventually get to Kaima Taira.  

In spite of a down season for Shunsuke Sato, other have picked up the slack.  There could always be a chance Yoshinobu Mizukami can earn his way back someday too.  

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What is this team? 

The Lions are competitive, but the offense reflects that things could get ice cold soon as long as S. Watanabe is out. In 2016, a sweep defeat in Hiroshima ended the Lions season or any hope. 

There are still two more weeks of interleague play that could break this team if the hitting doesn't get better. 

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Seibu Lions April Digest: Improvement from last year

 

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The Saitama Seibu Lions are currently 15-13 through 28 games in the 2025 season. So far, this is progress given last year, the 2024 season was already declared over on this blog after a 1-9 start that was deserving.  

Currently, the Lions sit in 3rd place of the Pacific League, only behind the Orix Buffaloes and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. 

Here are some things to remember for the month:

Seiya Watanabe is promising

Until he was injured, Watanabe showed exactly why the media thought of him as a first round draft pick. He can hit for average with good defense.  

It's been the biggest elephant in the room for the last few years with a lack of development on draft picks. He's been living up to the hype and filling a void.

While it's unlikely he will hit .400 for the entire year, does he have a better chance to knock in some RBIs with runners in scoring position? Yes. 

The offense could very well hinge on what Watanabe does. 

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Rotation continues it's form from last year, possible Sawamura candidates 

Chihiro Sumida and Tatsuya Imai have done their part, but don't always get the run support. Amazingly, the combined no-hitter thrown on April 18 was a scary one given the Lions only scored two runs and had to throw Kaima Taira in for the 9th.  There was also a conceded run where it was tied 1-1 late in the game.

Shinya Sugai and Yutaro Watanabe are providing good value while not trying to do too much.  

For Imai, he's chasing a historic season up to this point where his ERA stands below 1.00 and has shown he can control his stamina with runners on base or the bases being empty.  A true ace, he's been carrying this unit for awhile.

Kona Takahashi is also rebounding from a brutal 2024, finally winning a game for the first time since 2023 and putting in quality starts. He's no ace or close to the best pitcher in the Lions rotation, but there is still something to prove if he wants to go to MLB. He has domestic free agent rights at the end of this season, which likely prompts a posting if he continues at this pace. 

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Foreign signings showing more positives 

To start with the bad, it's Leandro Cedeño. Thought to be the cleanup hitter and fill a void in having some pop, he has failed to keep his everyday starting job and the Lions look like they're seeking other players.

He still has a chance to do something, but he already has an uphill battle.

Tyler Nevin's defense is gold glove worthy and his offense is respectable. He may not have the power hitting that every team seeks, but that's alright.  So f as far, he's keeping his head down and making good approaches towards the plate.  In short, he has passed the opening test through April. 

Emmanuel Ramirez has been given low leverage situations and could earn more innings if someone shows flaws down the road. 

Trey Wingenter earned the setup role and his mix of pitches from high velocity to going off speed has done wonders.  It's amazing to see hitters tricked when he isn't throwing the heat and won't be a one dimensional fastball hurler. 

With three out of four new signings staying relevant, it would keep an A-class status for the team at this pace. 

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Bullpen and Nishiguchi still a work in progress

Fumiya Nishiguchi has mostly stayed out of the spotlight.  Some questionable sending decisions by new 3B coach Masato Kumashiro has led to bad outs. Yes, the lack of power pushes the Lions to stretch their runners and extra 90 feet, but it's unwise to do so when it's obvious a few outfielders will get to the ball easily.  Against Rakuten, Kumashiro should have never attempted the walkoff in the bottom of the 9th. 

For bullpen decisions, Nishiguchi has been experimental for medium leverage. The 8th and 9th innings with a lead are a no brainer, but the 7th inning and before is where it gets uncertain.  

The options are there, but it's playing the right person at the right time being a learning lesson. 

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Possible resurgence and breakthrough?

Shuta Tonosaki has been fine since swinging to 3B, but it's Manaya Nishikawa who has shown the most improvement among starters from last year. It would be important if the Lions outfielders can keep their jobs without poor performance. 

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The Pacific League competition leaves the door open

The Lions were considered the worst Pacific League team coming off the disaster of the 2024 season. Yet only one has had their number in the Chiba Lotte Marines, who aren't even good. Is it because Aito was taken in the Active Player Draft two years ago? 

Against other Pacific League teams, they've held their ground and fortunately, they've gotten enough breaks to be on the winning side of one-run games being 7-3 up to this point.

Just enough offense has prevented any free fall, but the depth from scoring at the bottom of the order leaves a lot to be desired.  A correction could happen later this year which we don't want to see. 

However, it's nice to see there is already improvement on offense and all it took was a rookie second round draft pick.  We can enjoy this ride for now. 

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What are the 2025 Seibu Lions?

 

The 2025 NPB season kicks off this coming weekend.  For the new year, it usually symbolizes a time to get rid of the old and forgotten.

However, the Saitama Seibu Lions had one of the worst historical seasons in franchise history which led to a change for both manager and front office. 

Major changes in leadership

Exit Kazuo Matsui from a mid season resignation and a lame duck year from Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe who were forced to take responsibility for 2024. 

Koji Hiroike is the face of the Lions front office as a promotion from within. On paper, he likely has final say on all baseball operations decisions, but there are plenty of unseen people in the front office who make collective choices. 

Fumiya Nishiguchi was promoted from within after serving as the ni-gun manager. He worked his way up the ranks as a pitching coach before given the game manager position a few years ago. If anything, he knows the Lions organization pretty well in player personnel.

The Lions also hired four new coaches from outside the organization which includes Yusuke Torigoe as a head (bench) coach. They also added a hitting coach in Toshihisa Nishi, where the offense was so putrid and no one even hit 10 home runs in 2024. 

How well can the player adjust to these changes? Time will tell.

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Can the new imports make an impact?

 Look no further than the 2021 Yakult Swallows turning things around with two import signings being everyday players. 

While all four signings have their importance, all eyes will be on Tyler Nevin and Leandro Cedeño, who will be batting 3 and 4 respectively in the lineup.

Both players passed the preseason test, but stock can't be put into this until they're doing this in games that count. Given the Lions lack of pop, it would be best for Cedeño to reach 25 home runs while Nevin can hit for average to create some balance. Of course it wouldn't hurt if Nevin can get to 20 HRs, but 30 is much harder in NPB with a dead ball and pitched friendly ballparks. 

Pitchers Emmanuel Ramirez and Trey Wingenter both have moderate expectations as they can help the bullpen. If one of them can stay on top, the Lions pitching should be settled.

It wouldn't hurt if Bo Takahashi can put in a full season now that he's in Year 4.  If he can keep his job in the rotation, it would go a long way to help the pitching unit. 

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Second Base? Don't look

The 2B position has become a hole with Shuta Tonosaki now moving to 3B.  This will be full of unproven players with former trade acquisition Hiyu Motoyama being there along with other castoffs trying to fill this void. Will it be a liability? On paper, no one has stepped up to hit their own weight. 

Many are SS players who could convert like Taiga Hirasawa or Daiju Nomura. 

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What does Sosuke Genda do? 

Genda came off a scandalous offseason being unfaithful to his wife, Misa Eto. While there was no divorce involved, having a mistress for a lengthy amount of time, including the Premier 12 tournament was discovered. Both Genda and his wife made statements on social media with an apology and wanting privacy, but it became a bad look to end the 2024 calendar year. 

He is not 100% to start the year, but likely begins on Opening Day. 

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Can the Lions hit on low risk additions?

The Lions added both P Yuta Kuroki and IF Keisuke Nakata from ikusei to their 70-man roster as they earned spots from the preseason.  Both guys are castoffs from other Pacific League teams with Nakata, 25, choosing the Lions for the opportunity.  

The aforementioned Hirasawa was a former first round pick by the Chiba Lotte Marines, but never succeeded as a regular and came over during the Active Player Draft.  

The most intriguing pickup is second round draft pick Seiya Watanabe, who was thought to be first round talent that fell out of it.  

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How much does Nakamura have left in the tank?

Takeya Nakamura will be 42 this August and he did not retire. Like fellow veteran Takumi Kuriyama, his time is winding down. Yet there's one milestone he and every fan wants for the 2025 season: 500 career home runs.  Nakamura needs 22 while he's only hit 63 in the last five years combined.  The last time he eclipsed 20 or more home runs was 2019.

To the Lions credit, they're not overplaying him and Nakamura has failed to earn the playing time needed to get to this milestone, yet it's the sentimental goal that everyone wants to see for this year. Can he do it?

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Enjoy the starting pitching, for now

The only positive for 2024 was watching Natsuki Takeuchi have a strong rookie season and live up to the hype. 

Tatsuya Imai put in an ace caliber season with his second of 10 wins. 

Chihiro Sumida should be good while even the back end of the rotation won't be a concern going forward. Kona Takahashi should also have a rebound 2025 after a forgetful 2024. 

Takahashi is the only pending free agent for the Lions this year and if he puts in a great 2025, the team will likely post him to MLB as he desires. 

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Can someone shed their bust label?

Kento Watanabe has all but no hope, but Takuya Hiruma needs to put it together in Year 3.  So far, the Lions haven't seen enough to keep playing him and now he has stiff competition. 

Manaya Nishikawa has been with the Lions organization since 2018 but hasn't had any breakout season other than being a regular in 2024. 

Some have been hopeful for former ikusei Shinya Hasegawa, yet his bat has not been good enough. 

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The Competition

The Pacific League competition was very top heavy with two clear cut teams while the others underachieved in 2024.

SoftBank Hawks will remain the favorites until told otherwise.  Especially with Naoyuki Uwasawa being added.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters had a breakout 2024. Can that core take the next step offensively? Their pitching should always keep them competitive.

Orix Buffaloes underachieved in 2024. It was so bad that even the Lions finished with a winning record against them head-to-head.  A below average offense where Yutaro Sugimoto couldn't carry them.  They'll still have an elite pitching staff to keep things close. It will be interesting as they have a new manager in charge. 

Chiba Lotte Marines dominated the Lions as a way to be an A-class team, yet they were also not a good group as a whole. In spite of Roki Sasaki being posted, it may be a better thing for the Marines with the distraction gone. Offensively, they were carried by import hitters yet as a whole they were also below average. Can a domestic player not named Takashi Ogino do their job? It's been full of light hitters.

Rakuten Eagles are a messy organization where owner Hiroshi Mikitani calls the shots from afar. P They have some veterans who can hit and they took the most prized player in the draft, but can they pitch aside  from Takahisa Hayakawa?  Nothing says this team can go above the level of mediocrity. 

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Expectations for 2025

The Lions are still in the midst of a rebuild and unfortunately there's no way this could turn around from within in one year. 

However, the starting pitching can compete with anyone else.  If Nevin and Cedeño remain as ichi-gun starters for the entire season, it's all but guaranteed this is an A-class team.  That's a huge if. 

Bullpen will find its way from within and now that Kaima Taira is back to closing, it should be fine. But it wouldn't hurt if Wingenter can take a setup role.  

Third place is very wide open where the Hawks and Fighters should compete for the pennant. With most teams having strong pitching, who can hit in crunch time will separate this pack of four teams fighting for three spots.

The Lions hitting was such a zero that the season was over in late April and manager Kazuo Matsui had resign. They don't need to rake as a top team in NPB to win games, but be average.  A middle of the road offense combined with elite pitching will be an A-class team. 

The worst case scenario happened in 2024 when both Franchy Cordero and Jesus Aguilar stopped playing by May. 

Being competitive towards July would be a good building block for the long term, but finding imports to stay around would be another. 

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2025 Seibu Lions salary list

 

The 2025 NPB season is currently in camp mode down on Miyazaki or Kochi prefecture for Saitama Seibu Lions players. 

We have since converted all salaries for rookies, imports and players returning players.  

Only Victor Lopez, Anthony Garcia and Bo Takahashi have unreported wages

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Here are the reported figures for the 2025 Seibu Lions: 

Legend: 

^ - Raise from 2024

|v| - Paycut from 2024

= - Same wages

AVG/OBP/SLG for position players. 
 

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Pitchers: 

Kona Takahashi: ¥210 million, |v| by ¥55 million; (0-11), 3.87 ERA in 15 games, 81.1 innings

Kaima Taira: ¥200 million |v| by ¥50 million; (3-2), 1.66 ERA, in 22 games, 48.2 innings

Tatsuya Imai: ¥180 million, ^ by ¥100 million, (10-8), 2.34 ERA in 25 games, 173.1 innings

Emmanuel Ramírez: ¥130 million, (0-1), 6.97 ERA in 15 games, 20.2 innings with Miami Marlins in 2024

Trey Wingenter: ¥120 million, (0-0), 9.72 ERA in 7 games, 8.1 innings with Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox combined in 2024

Chihiro Sumida: ¥90 million, ^ by ¥50 million; (9-10), 2.76 ERA in 26 games, 179.1 innings

Katsunori Hirai:  ¥90 million =; (0-0), 4 holds, 4.66 ERA in 13 games, 9.2 innings 

Hirai is on a multi-year contract

Wataru Matsumoto: ¥52 million, |v| by ¥6 million, (1-9), 3.93 ERA in 34 games, 66.1 innings

Natsuki Takeuchi: ¥45 million, ^ by ¥29 million, (10-6), 2.17 ERA in 21 games, 145.1 innings

Shunsuke Sato: ¥43 million ^ by ¥13 million; (2-1), 1.69 ERA, 17 HLD in 45 games, 37.1 innings

Hiroshi Kaino: ¥35 million |v| by ¥5 million; (0-2), 11 HLD, 2.95 ERA in 19 games, 18.1

Yoshinobu Mizukami: ¥30 million |v| by ¥3 million, (1-1), 5.28 ERA, 6 HLD in 29 games, 29 innings

Kaito Yoza: ¥25 million |v| by ¥5 million (1-4), 4.81 ERA in 7 games, 24.1 innings 

Ryosuke Moriwaki: ¥20 million |v| by ¥16 million, (0-1), 0.00 ERA, in 2 ni-gun games, 1 inning

Moriwaki spent majority of 2024 recovering from surgery

Yutaro Watanabe: ¥20 million ^ by ¥11.8 million ; (3-4), 2.67 ERA in 14 games, 87.2 innings

Ichiro Tamura: ¥18 million ^ by ¥5 million; (1-0), 1 HLD, 1.82 ERA in 28 games, 29.2 innings

Minato Aoyama: ¥15.5 million, ^ by ¥1.5 million, (1-4), 2.78 ERA in 6 games, 32.1 innings

Yuta Nakamura: ¥15 million, ^ by ¥5 million (0-1), 3.09 ERA in 27 games, 32 innings

Takeru Sasaki: ¥14 million |v| by ¥6 million; No games in 2024

Taiga Ueda: ¥13.5 million ^ by ¥1 million; (0-0), 2.70 ERA in 17 games, 23.1 innings

Ryota Itogawa: ¥9 million |v| by ¥500K; (0-1), 9.82 ERA in 4 games, 3.2 innings

Taisei Miyazawa: ¥8 million |v| by ¥1 million, (0-1), 3.60 ERA in 12 ni-gun games, 15 innings 

Taishi Mameda: ¥7.7 million ^ by ¥200K; (0-1), 6.32 ERA in 15 games, 15.2 innings

Haruto Yamada: ¥7 million, =; (0-3), 6.75 ERA in 13 ni-gun games

Shinnosuke Hada: ¥7 million ^ by ¥1 million; (1-3), 2.76 ERA in 9 games, 16.1 innings

Haruki Sugiyama: ¥7 million=; (0-1), 0.00 ERA in 1 game, 3 innings

Shinya Sugai: ¥6.7 million ^ by ¥2 million; (1-2), 5.25 ERA in 8 games, 24 innings

Harusei Narita: ¥6.5 million =; No games in 2024

Masaya Kuroda: ¥6.2 million |v| by ¥300K; (0-2), 3.94 ERA in 8 ni-gun games

Bo Takahashi: Unreported (Made ¥35 million in 2023), (2-9), 3.22 ERA in 33 games, 72.2 innings

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Infielders:

Sosuke Genda: ¥300 million =; .264/.307/.337, 3 HR in 143 games

Genda signed a five-year contract through 2027

Shuta Tonosaki: ¥160 million =; .227/.312/.337, 7 HR in 127 games

Tonosaki signed a four-year contract through 2026

Leandro Cedeno: ¥160 million; .260/.320/.438, 15 HR in 98 games with Orix Buffaloes in 2024

Takeya Nakamura: ¥100 million |v| by ¥50 million; .191/.254/.372, 7 HR in 58 games

Ryusei Sato: ¥34 million ^ by ¥12 million; .244/.330/.390, 7 HR in 93 games

Shota Hiranuma: ¥19 million =; .265/.317/.333, 0 HR in 45 games 

Taiga Hirasawa: ¥16 million |v| by ¥4 million; .216/.389/.310, 2 HR in 96 ni-gun games with Chiba Lotte Marines in 2024

Daiju Nomura: ¥15.2 million ^ by ¥4.5 million; .225/.305/.410, 5 HR in 57 games

Takayoshi Yamamura: ¥15 million ^ by ¥7 million; .219/.268/.284, 2 HR in 58 games

Hiyu Motoyama: ¥13 million ^ by ¥2 million; .143/.175/.208, 1 HR in 33 games

Kento Watanabe: ¥12.5 million |v| by ¥3.5 million; .030/.158/.030, 0 HR in 11 games 

Ryosuke Kodama ¥12 million |v| by ¥1 million; .180/.268/.300, 0 HR in 32 games

Kakeru Yamanobe: ¥12 million ^ by ¥2.3 million ; .213/.259/.275, 0 HR in 50 games

Natsuo Takizawa: ¥11 million ^ by ¥3.7 million; .186/.244/.229, 0 HR in 68 games

Wataru Takamatsu: ¥11 million ^ by ¥400K; .000/.000/.000 in 35 games

IF Leon Murata: ¥7.5 million ^ by ¥500K; .231/.231/.231 in 4 games

Ryota Kawano: ¥6 million |v| by ¥500K; .241/.306/.310, 1 HR in 35 ni-gun games

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Outfielders: 

Tyler Nevin: ¥250 million; .204/.288/.331, 7 HR in 87 games with Oakland Athletics in 2024

Takumi Kuriyama: ¥80 million |v| by ¥28 million; .226/.364/.323, 1 HR in 60 games

Takuya Hiruma: ¥24 million ^ by ¥2 million; .220/.266/.280, 1 HR in 63 games

Junichiro Kishi: ¥24 million ^ by ¥7.5 million ; .216/.260/.324, 6 HR in 98 games

Manaya Nishikawa: ¥22 million ^ by ¥11 million ; .227/.263/.332, 6 HR in 104 games

Seiya Matsubara: ¥20 million |v| by ¥5 million; .123/.186/.185, 0 HR in 24 games

Shinya Hasegawa: ¥15 million ^ by ¥4 million; .183/.274/.240, 2 HR in 72 games 

Yudai Furukawa: ¥7.5 million =; .261/.307/.377 in 32 ni-gun games

Koichi Okumura: ¥7 million ^ by ¥2.3 million; .177/.217/.203, 0 HR in 45 games

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Catchers: 

Yuto Koga: ¥46 million ^ by ¥18 million; .228/.286/.285, 3 HR in 105 games

Ginjiro Sumitani: ¥40 million ^ by ¥5 million; .188/.247/.235, 0 HR in 105 games

Sena Tsuge: ¥21 million |v| by ¥1 million; .167/.205/.190, 0 HR in 42 games

Shoya Makino: ¥7.2 million ^ by ¥500K ; .050/.050/.050, 0 HR in 10 games

Takeru Furuichi: ¥6.5 million |v| by ¥500K; .000/.000/.000, 0 HR in 6 games, 

Kaito Noda: ¥6.5 million =; .250/.308/.250, 0 HR in 8 ni-gun games

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Ikusei: 

Ren Omagari: ¥6.5 million |v| by ¥200K; (2-3), 4.74 ERA in 24 ni-gun games

Shota Hamaya: ¥6 million [v] by ¥1.5 million; (0-0), 11.57 ERA in 1 game, 2.1 innings

Towa Uema: ¥5 million =; (4-8), 2.95 ERA in 17 ni-gun games

Hiroki Inoue: ¥5 million [v] =; (4-1), 2.68 ERA in 25 ni-gun games

Joseph Konosuke Sinclair: ¥4 million =; (0-0), 0.00 ERA in 1 ni-gun game

Daiki Miura ¥4 million =; (0-0), 10.80 ERA in 4 ni-gun games

Masahiro Kawashimi: ¥2.8 million =; No games in 2024

Shota Kise: ¥2.8 million =; No games in 2024

Yuta Nakamigawa: ¥5.1 million |v| by ¥400K; .156/.235/.311, 2 HR in 19 ni-gun games 

Montell Higuma ¥4 million =; .284/.310/.364, 0 HR in 60 ni-gun games

Ryosuke Koresawa ¥4 million =; .270/.327/.315, 0 HR in 31 ni-gun games

Kazuki Nomura ¥3.2 million =; .231/.286/.308, 0 HR in 4 ni-gun games 

Koji Kaneko: ¥3.2 million =; 209/.263/.314, 1 HR in 68 ni-gun games 

Asahi Taniguchi: ¥2.8 million =;  No games in 2024

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2024 Draft picks:

Main Draft

1. (#2) IF Hiroto Saito: ¥10 million + ¥90 million signing bonus

2. (#8) OF Seiya Watanabe: ¥12.5 million + ¥70 million signing bonus

3. (#46) RHP Shoma Karyu: ¥7 million + ¥50 million signing bonus

4. (#44) OF Kuan-Chen Lin: ¥10 million + ¥40 million signing bonus

5. (#52) RHP Hibiki Shinohara: ¥7 million + ¥25 million signing bonus

6. (#64) C Haruki Tatsuyama: ¥6 million + ¥20 million signing bonus

7. (#59) IF Teruki Koga: ¥7.5 million + ¥20 million signing bonus

Ikusei Draft

1. (#123) LHP Yamato Fuji: ¥2.8 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

2. (#128) IF Taiyo Saito: ¥4 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

3. (#132) OF Ramal Ghibin Ratanayake: ¥2.8 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

4. (#133) LHP So Sato: ¥4 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

5. (#137) OF Haruto Sawada: ¥2.8 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

6. (#138) IF Haruma Fukuoka: ¥2.8 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

7. (#139) OF Okemumei Umebinyuo:¥2.8 million + ¥3.5 million signing bonus

Keep in mind education affects salary. Someone with a college education or from the industrial leagues as a shakaijin will have a higher salary than someone out of high school unless they're a first round draft pick. 

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2025 Lions camp lists announced

 

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The Saitama Seibu Lions and the rest of NPB are gearing up for the 2025 season ahead.  

For the ichi-gun squad they will be in Miyazaki prefecture while the ni-gun camp is in Haruno, Kochi. 

Here are the lists for all camps:

Ichi-gun camp:

Pitchers: Taiga Ueda, Yutaro Watanabe, Kona Takahashi, Chihiro Sumida, Shunsuke Sato, Ichiro Tamura, Hiroshi Kaino, Haruto Yamada, Bo Takahashi, Shinnosuke Hada, Trey Wingenter, Tatsuya Imai, Emmanuel Ramirez, Masaya Kuroda, Kaima Taira, Taishi Mameda, Shinya Sugai, Yuta Kuroki, Victor Lopez 

Catchers: Yuto Koga Ginjiro Sumitani, Sena Tsuge, Shoya Makino

Infielders: Ryosuke Kodama, Shuta Tonosaki, Sosuke Genda, Ryusei Sato, Takayoshi Yamamura, Taiga Hirasawa, Leandro Cedeño, Natsuo Takizawa, Kento Watanabe, Reon Murata, Keisuke Nakata

Outfielders: Seiya Watanabe, Tyler Nevin, Shota Hiranuma, Manaya Nishikawa, Shinya Hasegawa, Montell Higuma

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Ni-gun camp:

Pitchers: Ryouta Itogawa, Katsunori Hirai, Yuta Nakamura, Ryosuke Moriwaki, Masahiro Kawashimo, Haruki Sugiyama

Catchers: Haruki Tatsuyama, Takeru Furuichi, Ryosuke Koresawa

Infielders: Kakeru Yamanobe, Hiyu Motoyama, Wataru Takamatsu, Teruki Koga, Takeya Nakamura, Daiju Nomura, Koji Kaneko

Outfielders: Takumi Koriyama, Takuya Hiruma, Yudai Furukawa, Seiya Matsubara, Junichiro Kishi, Koichi Okumura, Anthony Garcia, Yuta Nakamigawa

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San-gun camp:

Pitchers: Wataru Matsumoto, Natsuki Takeuchi, Minato Aoyama, Haruse Narita, Shoma Kariu, Hibiki Shinohara, Shota Hamaya, Ren Omagari, Towa Uema, Takeru Sasaki, Taisei Miyazawa, Hiroki Inoue, Daiki Miura, Yamato Fuji, Joseph Sinclair, Shota Kise, So Sato

Catchers: Kaito Noda

Infielders: Hiroto Saito, Kazuki Nomura, Asahi Taniguchi, Taisho Sato, Ryota Kawano, Haruma Fukuoka

Outfielders: Kuan-Chen Lin, Ramal Ghibin Ratanayake, Haruto Sawada, Okemumei Umebinyo

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While lots of starters are being displaced to look at others, it's notable Seiya Watanabe is getting a quick look at the ichi-gun level while first round pick Hiroto Saito is at the san-gun camp. 

A reminder that several players are also rehabbing like Natsuki Takeuchi, who is out for two months. 

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Oakland A's / Seibu Lions Series: Jesus Aguilar

 

The Saitama Seibu Lions took a short term gamble on a different signing after what was a controversial lowballing for the predecessor. 

Jesus Aguilar

Tenures: 2023 with the Oakland Athletics, 2024 with the Seibu Lions

Statistics with Oakland: 36 games, 114 PAs, .221/.281/.385, 5 HRs, 9 RBIs

Statistics with the Seibu Lions: 30 games, 124 PAs, .204/.274/.301, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs

Aguilar's career started with the Cleveland Indians as an amateur signing in November of 2007 while still being a teenager. 

Once named to the All Star Futures game, Aguilar saw a handful of MLB action in Cleveland from 2014-2016, but couldn't stay up at the ichi-gun level enough. With a team that already had Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli, there was no room for Aguilar to grow and he was released after 2016.

The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Aguilar off waivers for 2017 and he made the Opening Day roster with a strong spring training. He became a regular and had a peak 2018 season where he was named an All Star and hit 35 HRs, with most of his production coming from the first half of the season. 

Aguilar was traded during the 2019 season to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jake Faria where he appeared in 37 games and was released at the conclusion.

The Miami Marlins claimed Aguilar off waivers and he was a starting 1B for them in 2020 and 2021. After 113 games into the 2022 season, Aguilar was released again and spent the final weeks of the year with the Baltimore Orioles.

In 2023, the Oakland A's signed Aguilar to a one-year, $3 million contract. His tenure was short lived for only 36 games as the A's designated him for assignment after pitcher Paul Blackburn returned from injury.  

In context, the A's were running a bare bones operation and spent as minimally as possible to suppress their attendance and draw fan apathy. Aguilar's token contract could sum up the cheapness of the organization in a nutshell. 

The Saitama Seibu Lions chose to sign Aguilar for 2024 to a ¥210 million contract, which is rather high for an import player lacking NPB experience.

Much was asked of Aguilar to fill the shoes and void left by a departed and troubled Hotaka Yamakawa. The Lions even chose to part ways with David MacKinnon, who was a starting infielder for all of 2022 just so they can hope for more power hitting. 

Aguilar's time was a disaster with nearly no power, two home runs, one hero interview and a forgetful time as a cleanup hitter. 

An ankle injury sidelines him in early May and he never played an ichi-gun game again. He has surgery to repair his right ankle, but the damage was done to both himself and the Lions for a lack of offensive production and presence at the ichi-gun when it was needed. 

The 2024 season was hinging on import signings more than ever with the lack of hitting the Lions have had.  Aguilar's flop combined with a few others led to the Lions staff having significant changes. Manager Kazuo Matsui was forced to resign at the end of May, while Hisanobu (Nabe-Q) put himself as the interim manager to finish the season. 

However, he too stepped down from his General Manager position with the near historic last place finish for 2024. Four staff positions were even filled from outside the organization. 

Aguilar is currently a free agent. 

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Others in the series: 

Mateo "Matty" Alou

John Wasdin

Jose Ortiz

Ty Van Burkleo

Taylor Duncan

Roger Repoz

Jim Tyrone

Esteban German 

Bert Campaneris  

Hiram Bocachica

Dee Brown

Neil Wagner 

Sean Nolin

Brian Schlitter

Zach Neal

Burch Smith

David MacKinnon

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