Due to the Olympic break year's NPB trade deadline is on August 31 and while the trades and transactions are minor, every team needs to start thinking ahead at who could be gone soon. The NPB Draft takes place in October while the regular season is still ongoing, but it's usually a hint at when senryokugai lists are announced for each team in order to make room for the new players taken.
This deadline also applies to the additions for non-waiver pickups. However, the Olympic break should be the best time to bring in any midseason imports with the quarantine rules in effect. Foreigners serving their quarantine during the Olympics is the best case scenario.
Putting yourself in the General Manager's shoes, some players need to show life or their careers in NPB could be over. In North America on this kind of day, players are always reminded and even telling the media "it's a business" when they're sent packing via trade, cut or being released.
As with usual in NPB, trades mostly happen because teams don't know what to do with the player they have, hoping to acquire cheap depth or find a change of scenery for the individual. They're often expendable.
For those reading in Japan, this is not a hit piece for any players who may not have been good, but it's a warning to project who could be gone from the Lions after the 2021 season concludes. We have also provided an update for all foreigners under contact, which is always a year-by-year case. Ikusei players will not be listed here.
Here are the players who could be sent away by trade or senryokugai:
Shunta Nakatsuka: Nakatsuka previously survived last year's cuts by ending the season at the ichi-gun level. However, he has no action in 2021 except one game in ni-gun. He turns 27 in December as his ceiling is caving in. Time could be running out.
Hitoto Komazuki: Once a converted outfielder, Komazuki is the designated farm catcher with Sena Tsuge as the better option. If the Lions want to promote Daichi Nakaguma from ikusei, Komazuki could be gone. However, Masatoshi Okada also has domestic free agent rights.
Kaito Awatsu: Awatsu was a fourth round draft pick in 2018, but hasn't appeared in a game at any level for 2021. He saw an ichi-gun appearance in mop up in 2019, which I was in the building for, but nothing after that.
Daiki Enokida: Enokida has seen his ichi-gun time continue to dwindle and has been a spot starter since last year. He has seen eight relief appearances in ni-gun, but has yet to make an ichi-gun appearance. Maybe he'll get a shot in the second half, but he's not exactly young.
Keisuke Honda: The non-midfielder saw only two ichi-gun starts with mixed results. However, he has several ni-gun starts which should keep him afloat.
Hiromasa Saito: Once a first round draft pick, Saito has spent majority of his career as a ni-gun pitcher. He showed promise in Australia, but the success never translated to NPB. With Kaima Taira's emergence, Saito is an afterthought.
Mitsuo Yoshikawa: The former Fighters pitcher was a cheap flyer for the Lions in hopes to find depth. It hasn't worked out as hoped.
Daisuke Togawa: A former ikusei, Togawa hasn't appeared in a single game at any level. He experienced a hero interview for his efforts in Chiba, but couldn't keep his roster spot in 2019.
Daichi Nakaguma: Nakaguma has been an ikusei catcher for three years. The Lions will need to make a decision one way or another if they want to keep him around.
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Already gone:
Aoi Tono: Tono showed promise as an ikusei, but an injury continued to get worse and forced him to retire.
Ernesto Mejia: Mejia was granted a release at his request. His playing time was already minimal and felt more reason to commit to his family.
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Foreigners:
Zach Neal: Neal is at the end of a two year contract as he struggled in 2020. He started slow in 2021, but his starts are better than his stats indicate. If he keeps up this pace, the Lions should keep him around for 2022.
Reed Garrett: Garrett was given a second year while having a middle relief innings. He gets high leverage innings as a setup man, but his outings can be inconsistent. Garrett enters the second half on the bubble.
Cory Spangenberg: Spangenberg had a late arrival as did most Lions imports. Last year, he had several extra base hits, but this season, some teams have pitched around him and adjusted. His versatility is what keeps him alive. However, he is on the outside with struggles at the plate and faces uncertainty unless things get better.
Matt Dermody: Dermody had the tallest uphill battle with being the only new foreigner on the Lions and had a late arrival with no in-person spring camp. He saw a handful of starts before and during interleague play, but has yet to get a win and had some unlucky outings to prevent one. Things have gone south where he was taken off the ichi-gun at the end of interleague play and has yet to receive a call up since.
Social media controversies aside, he'll need to make a good impression on the coaching staff to get another opportunity. If the season ended today, he'll be playing elsewhere by 2022.
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The Lions could always use depth at any position except starting pitching, but it's unclear who they could target. In the past, I've suggested OF Louis Okoye of the Rakuten Eagles due to his Saitama prefecture ties and Kazuhisa Ishii having no attachment to him.
Like anything, it's gutcheck time for all players who haven't produced and need to in orrder to stay alive for 2022.
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