The infield for the Saitama Seibu Lions will have a different look by at least 25%. Hideto Asamura recently signed with the Rakuten Eagles and the Lions will need to figure out who will be the team's starting second baseman.
Elsewhere, the Lions will need a long term third base option as Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura will not last forever. Here's how the infield situation looks:
Locks:
Sosuke Genda: Genda avoided a sophomore slump season and should remain the starting shortstop without question.
Hotaka Yamakawa: After having two bad Aprils to begin his ichi-gun career, Yamakawa put in a full season for the first time and earned Pacific League MVP honors with the Home Run King title. Should be batting cleanup once again and starting at 1B.
Takeya Nakamura: Okawari-kun will turn 36 this year and is approaching 400 career home runs. After an amazing second half, he did everything he could for a veteran, but how much could his playing time diminish as he battles father time? He'll likely start quite a few games at 3B, but someone else could emerge later.
Shuta Tonosaki: It's possible the Lions make him the starting 2B if he beats out his competition. He usually saw time at second base when the defensive replacements came in, but his range was more effective in the outfield. The Lions still have him listed as an infielder and based on last year, he is penciled in to start.
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Reserves:
Ernesto Mejia: This is probably the hardest thing to label, but Mejia is all but expendable from a Lions standpoint. The team gave Mejia a three-year extension in the middle of 2016 and it has been a mistake in hindsight with the emergence of Yamakawa. He is likely to be the team's pinch hitter and occasional DH in a spell situation. It's all but guaranteed that 2019 is Mejia's final year in a Lions uniform.
Kakeru Yamanobe: The Lions third round draft pick out of the Shakaijin leagues could win himself a job at 2B. He has decent hitting abilities and range, but can it translate to NPB?
Kazuki Kaneko: Once a high school draft pick in 2013, the time is ripe for him to emerge as he turns 24 this May. He saw a decent spell at the ichi-gun when Okawari-kun was ineffective for the first half.
Haruka Yamada: Yamada was a high school draft pick in 2014 and had only one hit last year in his time at the ichi-gun. A solo HR was his only moment of glory with his bat, but he showed decent fielding at 3B as a defensive substitute.
Ryusei Sato: Sato can compete right away despite being a 7th round draft pick out of college. Competing with high school draft picks who are slightly older than him, Sato has pop and was a cleanup hitter in college. He is more likely suited for 3B over the others when it comes to the 2B competition.
Daichi Mizuguchi: Mizuguchi is the only ikusei player to play an ichi-gun game in Lions history through 2018. He was mostly a pinch runner or defensive substitute at 2B, which is what his career is likely to be. Has almost no chance at winning the starting job.
Nien Ting Wu: Wu has been training in ni-gun to play all positions in the field outside of catcher and pitcher. He's versatile to be inserted anywhere, but his bat hasn't impressed the coaches enough to earn ichi-gun time. With so many players to compete against, it's a large uphill battle for the infielder out of Taiwan.
Kyohei Nagae: Nagae is arguably one of the best fielders on the team, but cannot hit well enough to get ichi-gun starts. With others being younger on the roster, Nagae is on the outside trying to stay relevant.
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The Farm:
Ryusei Tsunashima: A high school draft pick from 2017, Tsunashima got a taste of pro baseball at the ni-gun level in 2018. This will be another year of development.
Manaya Nishikawa: The 2017 Koshien champion and former outfielder is capable of playing several position in the field. He's still raw with his bat, but the team can plug him anywhere for the long term. Like Tsunashima, this is another developmental year.
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Outlook:
Second base is the obvious void that everyone is interested to look at among position players. It was clear during the draft when the Lions drafted Yamanobe that he was an insurance pick for when Asamura could leave via free agency.
"Catch the Glory" is the team's motto for 2019 and it hits the infield in particular for any young Lions to step it up and be part of the starting unit. In the long term, Kaneko, Sato or Yamada could emerge as the everyday third baseman as they transition away from Okawari-kun.
Somewhere deep down, the Lions wish they could find someone else to pay for Mejia's last year.
Here are the poll results via Twitter on who fans thinks could be the starting 2B.
Who do you think will be the #seibulions starting 2B?— Graveyard Baseball (@GraveyardBall) January 26, 2019
Please translate this @64Uni_Lions#npbeng #sbhawks 埼玉西武ライオンズ
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Other positions in series:
Catcher
Outfield
Bullpen
Rotation
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