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The story
Core Hiroshima Carp players Morishita, Tokoda, and Sakakura have all become eligible for free agency, sparking discussion on 5ch about the possibility of several of them leaving for other teams at once. Under NPB’s FA system, signing an A- or B-ranked free agent requires the signing team to hand over compensation talent, so the debate has also turned to which clubs might actually make a move. Opinions in the thread were split between those blaming the team’s low salary levels and those saying the players are simply past their peak, with plenty of criticism aimed at front-office management as well. The thread also brought up Sakakura’s repeated controversial remarks and the team’s official social media posts.
What people said
Yeah, we're done.
Arai's not even there anymore though.
With only Moinelo and Maeda as lefties, that's a bit thin for the Hawks.
Tokoda's a diehard Giants fan through and through.
The front office takes pride in developing homegrown talent, so there's no way they'd go out and get a pitcher, of all things.
Teams like Rakuten go all-in on reinforcements, though.
They should just be forced into retirement instead.
Orix went and got Kuri, so they'll move just fine
— compensation and all, mind you.
Everyone wants Tokoda, he's still producing through September
but Morishita's a bit shaky at this point.
They'll absolutely go after Morishita.
Feels like it'll take a decade to rebuild this team.
No chance until Chairman Matsuda and Suzuki are gone.
This team can't even use AI properly.
Well, they only recently started putting real effort into PR, so I guess they're trying
— but it's run like the Matsuda family's small-town shop, so it's nowhere near polished.
Kikuchi and Akiyama should be the ones doing it, but they're just not that type.
They're keeping things "in line" with a forkball, aren't they.
They ARE keeping things in line
— just overwhelmingly in the wrong direction.
Exactly this.
Kikuchi would be making double if he were on the Giants.
Payback for getting snubbed in the draft?
So he'd be moving to a team even less popular than "the zombies" (a nickname for a perennially low-attendance club).
???: "I'll take the job, but only if Richard comes with me."
Tokoda's really weak in September
— his ERA always spikes once this month rolls around.
Yeah, that came out wrong.
I wonder if he could go the distance if they spaced out his starts a bit.
Background and Key Points
Under NPB’s free agency system, players are ranked A, B, or C based on the previous season’s performance, and signing an A-ranked free agent away from another team requires the signing club to provide compensation (returning part of its roster). Morishita, Tokoda, and Sakakura, the players at the center of this discussion, are believed to be ranked B or higher, which is why the thread’s “we want them, but it’s not worth the cost” reaction reflects this compensation system. The thread frames this as multiple players hitting free agency at once, but whether all three actually leave depends on their own decisions and negotiations — at this stage it remains speculation, not confirmed fact. Opinions split along two lines: some blame the team’s low salary levels, others argue the players are simply past their prime, with recurring criticism of front-office management (the operating style of the Matsuda family business that owns the club) as well. It’s also worth noting the discussion mixes in unrelated controversies — like Sakakura’s repeated comments blowing up online and the team’s official account’s AI-image mishap — which color perceptions of both the players and the front office.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Bad News] Hiroshima Carp Set for Unprecedented NPB First: Three B-Rank-or-Higher Free Agents Set to Leave.”
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