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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