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The 2023 NPB season passed the halfway mark in July and with the month almost over, it's a time to brace for one of the harder days in professional sports.
When the regular season is in it's final weeks, teams around the league will need to announce their players not returning for the next year with no contract offer coming or as they say, senryokugai (戦力外) in Japanese.
Last season, the Lions had three veterans (Ken Togame, Tetsuya Utsumi and Shota Takekuma) retire, which resulted in a several players surviving the cut. They were forced to make only two senryokugai to make room for the most recent draft class. Others were dropped down to an Ikusei contract.
With several players living to fight another year, time is running out for someone. There will be senryokugai as well as someone placed on the Active Player draft since two players are eligible for placement.
For this list, we will not mention ikusei players or those who could retire.
Statistically, well mention the ichi-gun slashline of AVG/OBP/SLG. Stats shown are reflective of games through July 23.
Here are the candidates the Lions could be parting ways with at the deadline or the end of the year:
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P Yaku Cho: (0-0), 9.00 ERA in Five games
Cho was part of the free compensation for the loss of Tomoya Mori going to the Orix Buffaloes. This decision hasn't panned out as one hoped as he has spent majority of this season in ni-gun. He may get another year of grace, but the leash will be short.
OF Yuji Kaneko: .190/.235/.241 in 44 games
The Lions locked up Kaneko before he even reached domestic free agency, but everything has backfired since this extension. Now entering a contract season, he's mostly fallen out of favor with younger options.
Gone are the days where he could steal a base on the fly. Recently he's been playing Ichi-gun games, but at 33 years old, it's safe to say his best days are behind him and it's worth letting him go.
P Tetsuya Miyagawa: (1-1), 6.30 ERA in two games
A former first round draft pick, Miyagawa hasn't panned out like the team envisioned. His location was always off no matter the role and now he's down to being a spot starter. He was useful in 2022, but it's the strange trend of going South that always leaves room for doubt..
C Masato Saito: No ichi-gun games in 2023
A backup catcher his whole career. He's literally played one game each in 2021 and 2022 mostly seen in the bullpen or ni-gun. Saito is the second oldest catcher on the team after veteran Masatoshi Okada. There doesn't appear to be any room for his services.
IF Naomasa Yohkawa: .158/.273/.316 in seven games
Taken from the Active Player (Rule 5) draft, Yohkawa has failed to keep an ichi-gun job and is one of the older players on the roster.
P Katsuhiko Kumon: (0-0), 3.86 ERA in three games
Kumon was the veteran presence that came back when the Lions traded Fumikazu Kimura and Ryusei Sato to the Fighters. He wasn't bad depth previously, but younger pitchers have taken the innings over Kumon. Time is running out.
P Ichiro Tamura: (0-0), 1.80 ERA in five games
Tamura's stints at the ichi-gun have been short lived. Mostly a mop up pitcher, it's possible he's too old or has no upside to be a regular contributor. He is a productive ni-gun closer, but it may not be enough.
P Yutaro Watanabe: No games in 2023
Watanabe was thought to be a promising Pitcher for the Lions staff, but he hasn't built on his rookie season. He's still young as he turns 23 in September, but it's not unheard of to let go of someone under 25.
OF Seiji Kawagoe: .133/.297/.233 in 12 games
Kawagoe was recently traded to the Chunichi Dragons and being age 30, it was easy to list him here when initially writing this. The Lions thought the same as he was shipped away for IF Wataru Takamatsu.
OF Brandon Taiga Tysinger: No Games in 2023
Tysinger had a promising 2021 after some injuries forced him to be called up early. His career has since come to a stall with no good impressions in ni-gun. His upside is starting to dwindle now that's he's 25.
IF Kakeru Yamanobe: .167/.211/.167 in 12 games
Yamanobe was thought to be insurance when the Lions 2B position could have had a void. Instead, Shuta Tonosaki filled this while Yamanobe's bat remained poor, something he's never been able to recover from. As a result, he's mostly a part time player if not defensive replacement. Being 29 years old means the upside is gone.
IF Hotaka Yamakawa: .254/.290/.322 in 17 games
Not much to say on this given what happened. Seibu Holdings has a shareholders meeting and discussed how it's likely Yamakawa will be let go by season's end. With him being under investigation and awaiting indictment, the Lions have him under an undisclosed self-suspension until further notice. It's likely he'll never suit up for the team again.
P Katsunori Hirai (Free agent): (3-3), 2.05 ERA in 31 games
Hirai will reach domestic free agency at the end of the season with seven years of service time. Taken in the same draft class as Sosuke Genda and Tatsuya Imai, he will likely test the market.
OF Aito Takeda: .228/.240/.344 in 49 games
Aito was added back to the ichi-gun recently and his first appearance for the first time in 38 games. He started well, but has been inactive longer than someone would want. Having been in the organization since 2016, it's not clear what kind of future or upside he really has.
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Foreigners
Import players get their own section and evaluation each year given the window of time to make an impact needs to come sooner than later. It's a time to look back and project who is staying or going.
Mark Payton: .178/.228/.329 in 20 games
Payton has spent majority of the season in ni-gun. To be fair, he had a weaker resume coming into NPB compared to most imports and his struggles in April showed. Recently he was called up and started on Sunday.
He has a chance to flip the script, but if any deactivation happens, he's likely gone.
P Dietrich Enns: (1-8), 5.18 ERA in 9 games
Enns has also spent a fraction of this season in ni-gun with a lack of quality starts. His walk rate is too high, likely putting him on the outside and may have run his course from last season.
We want to congratulate he and his wife on becoming parents earlier this season.
Jesus Tinoco: (0-3), 3.18 ERA in 31 games
The Lions were hoping Tinoco could be a setup reliever. Instead, he takes the medium to low leverage situations with a mixed bag of results. He specifically struggles at location giving up massive hits and loud contact often.
He has an uphill battle if he wants another season in Japan.
Bo Takahashi: (0-0), 2.35 ERA in 16 games
Takahashi has mostly been a low leverage reliever unless there's a tie game situation and it's in extra innings. There's nothing flashy about his pitching, but he's done enough to stay at the ichi-gun the whole time.
At this pace, he'll likely get an offer for another season in NPB. One key thing about Takahashi is age being on his side for a foreigner, at only 26 years old, he can improve and is cost efficient. While 26 isn't old, domestic players have a shorter window on this.
David MacKinnon: .258/.326/.403 in 85 games
MacKinnon is the only player to appear in every single game this season for the Lions. That alone is enough of a pace to earn a contract offer for 2024.
He's one of only two players with at least 10 HRs on the team and despite his "no power" description of his playing style, MacKinnon is doing enough to be a pest in the lineup. The only thing we've learned is he isn't built to be a cleanup or power hitter, but thats alright. Unlike most import position players who come, MacKinnon is supposed to be a light hitter and play fine defense, which is what he's already doing. At the pace of hitting, he's likely to stay around.
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