From our other sites
The story
Following a drug-transfer scandal involving Hiroshima Toyo Carp players, reports have surfaced that the team may exclude Kaito Kozono and Masaya Yano from next season’s plans and ship them out via trade. Ryutaro Hazuki has already been released over the incident. Some observers believe other teams would want Kozono, last year’s batting champion and a former Samurai Japan national-team member, but many argue no team would take on Yano, who has been referred to prosecutors. On 5ch, opinion split between blaming the players individually and questioning the team’s oversight, with comments like ‘Why would anyone think another team would take on that risk?’ and ‘Don’t lump Yano and Kozono together.’
In July, “SmartFLASH” (the web edition of the weekly magazine “FLASH”) published a photo showing Kaito Kozono, Masaya Yano, and Shunsuke Tamura alongside a company executive who was arrested and indicted for allegedly transferring drugs to Hazuki. With fan trust eroding, the team may now exclude core players like Yano and Kozono from next season’s plans, setting up a turbulent offseason.
“Looking ahead to next year, Yano and Kozono might be needed in terms of raw talent, but their off-field conduct has damaged the team’s image so badly that I doubt fielding them on the top team would restore fan trust. I’d expect the team to focus on developing younger players while reinforcing the middle infield they used to cover, through the draft or trades,” said a sports-newspaper desk editor.
Given the coverage so far, it’s hard to picture a trade going through for Yano, who has been referred to prosecutors — but Kozono’s case is different. A former front-office chief at a Tokyo-based team noted, “If it came to a trade, I think some teams would take him on. He won the batting title last year and played for Samurai Japan in the WBC before this season started, so his ability is beyond question. That said, I do think he needs to hold a press conference to clear up any misunderstanding.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Wonder what they'll do about Ihara.
Ihara (different kanji this time, lol): 'Yeah, yeah.'
Nakata Sho and Yamakawa, in unison: 'Yeah, yeah.'
Ihara's probably back next season anyway — he just got drunk and caused a scene, that's all.
Moriya was in on it too, wasn't he.
NPB isn't doing much about it either, even though this is basically a credibility problem for pro baseball as a whole.
Ihara, then Yano and Kozono — something like that, huh.
From what's known so far, it's strictly a private matter. The team should keep some rein on its players, but NPB can't realistically manage things down to that level.
If it were just one guy, sure, but the Carp have had way too many drug-related incidents lately — it's at the point where the organization itself is the problem. Batista, Jackson, and now this 'zombie' case too.
Can Orix even sign three free agents at once under the current rules?
Conclusion: for Kozono, teams like the Swallows, Dragons, or Lions would be a relatively good fit; for Yano, the Swallows, Marines, or Lions.
A team that already has Nao and Genda doesn't need Yano…
Whoever gets sent back in return would have it rough.
That's because Hazuki had already admitted it and the indictment was finalized. Cutting someone once they're formally indicted is standard practice even at regular companies.
Trading someone as punishment is disrespectful both to the other team and to whichever player comes back in the deal.
There's no way they're also letting go of Kozono and Yano on top of all that.
Tokoda's headed to Orix.
Still better than tax evasion, so it's fine.
'A guy we drafted turned out to commit a crime' versus 'we acquired a guy who already committed a crime' — the first isn't blameless either, but the second is clearly worse.
Arai's too soft, so the players walk all over him and act up with zombie stunts (🧟♂) and fork-and-fire nonsense (🍴🔥) — makes you wonder if they can function as normal adults.
Sure, the players themselves are the biggest problem, but if nobody questions the team's management responsibility too, the Carp stay too lax and this'll just keep happening.
Well, Carp fans would want to believe that…
Nippon-Ham seriously has no use for guys who can't hit.
He'll just end up fertilizer for the farm squads in Kamagaya and Eniwa.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This report traces back to a case in which a company executive was arrested and indicted on suspicion of transferring drugs to player Ryutaro Hazuki; a weekly magazine published a photo in July showing Kozono, Yano, and Tamura in connection with that case. Yano has been referred to prosecutors, but Kozono himself is not suspected of the drug transfer itself — the main factor appears to be the image damage from simply appearing in the photo. As one thread comment put it, ‘Don’t lump Yano and Kozono together,’ reflecting how differently the two are actually implicated. It’s also easy to overlook that a ‘trade-out’ is still only at the team’s planning stage in these reports — a trade requires the other team’s agreement and isn’t something the Carp can decide unilaterally. Many commenters called for the team to be held accountable for its oversight, but as of this writing, no disciplinary action or preventive measures from the club have been announced.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Hiroshima Reportedly Trading Away Kaito Kozono and Masaya Yano lolololololololololol.”
Leave a Reply