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The Saitama Seibu Lions players received three specific Awards for the concluded 2022 season. Sosuke Genda and Shuta Tonosaki received a golden glove while Yoshinobu Mizukami won the Pacific League Rookie of the year award.
For Genda, it was his 5th consecutive award while it was Tonosaki's second. Mizukami shocked the NPB world by being a reliable reliever in the 7th inning for much of the year. He even won a monthly MVP award in 2022.
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Foreigners returning
The Lions decided the fate for all five imports last season. Jantzen Witte and Brian O'Grady were first informed they were being let go without an offer.
Witte was unable to stay at the ichi-gun for a lengthy amount of time and an injury slowed his start.
O'Grady was second on the team in home runs with 15, but he couldn't hit one by the time it was late August as the team won without his offensive contributions. It was a tale of two halves.
Dietrich Enns and Bo Takahashi will both return in 2023 with contracts. Enns was a solid middle of the rotation starting pitcher capable of going 5-6 innings each time. Takahashi was a mop up pitcher, but his age and low cost proved to be something the team valued in hoping he can develop.
Lastly Burch Smith was let go after both sides couldn't decide on an agreement. The Lions wanted Smith as a reliever while he preferred to be a starter. Smith ended up missing several months of action due to various injuries and even left two starts early.
With limited health concerns, the Lions didn't give him an offer.
Salary negotiations are currently happening for all teams and the Lions reached multiple contract extensions.
Shuta Tonosaki and Sosuke Genda will be under team control through the 2026 season as the latter received a five-year contract and the former a four-year.
Genda would have been a domestic free agent after 2023 if he wasn't locked up while Tonosaki reached free agent rights after the 2022 season.
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