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The story
The Yomiuri Giants’ acting manager Hideki Hashigami held a final team meeting after the season ended, effectively closing out the interim leadership that had been in place since former manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned in May. Former Giants stars Yoshinobu Takahashi and Hideki Matsui are being floated as potential successors, while reports say Abe has been asked to return to the front office in a player-personnel role. Hayato Sakamoto and Masahiro Tanaka have both confirmed they’ll keep playing next season — their 21st year as pros — and on the free-agent market, Hiroshima’s Tokoda and former Orix pitcher Espinoza are seen as reinforcement targets. Meanwhile, reports suggest the Giants could see a mass turnover of their foreign players, and the thread lit up with reactions over who might stay and who might go.
What people said
Giants Acting Manager Thread 173
Departures
Released (roster cut): #37 Kori, #38 Okada, #64 Yamada
Released (free agent): #12 Hagio, #54 Matsuura
Active player draft:
Trade:
Retirement:
Demoted to developmental:
Arrivals
Draft picks (direct designation):
Active player draft:
Trade:
Other:
Promoted from developmental:
2026 active roster count: 70
2027 active roster count: 65
Open uniform numbers
7 12 18 37 38 54 55 64 83
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8ad9b2787bcbdec589ddb4d74c1713bb119f6304
After the game, acting manager Hashigami held a meeting with the players and revealed, 'The season is now over, for everyone including the players, so I thanked them all.' It capped off a turbulent season that saw him go from coach to acting manager after Manager Abe's resignation in May.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/0fe1d0aa5b44addcc0824eee40c6427449d43166
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/744925fe4aacbf656b7f1dac6038a131a2e887f2
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f821ce4d1bcd62ff51a0193897665105736a56fa
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/19b65f51445f41fc70a28745e839a7dc0800ce6d
What was the point of Whitley, anyway?
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/99ca73152cc51fa923fe34608f2c30cd317189c9
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/62827cc9786ed47a25991cfd6b9cb41642fe69f7
Actually, even if they were planning to keep him, after seeing that performance they should change their minds and cut him.
A guy who embarrasses himself like that in a game that matters, even for the minors, is never going to make it big.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/e3c65a4df0469dabbe38220f75c3eae5d0512887
Are we starting a whole Hiroshima collection now — Morishita, Tokoda, Sakakura, and so on?
Add Kozono to the collection too
Nobody's actually coming though lol. Guys with any real track record aren't gonna bother joining our squad — they'd rather go somewhere they can play freely.
Yeah, you can't win if you don't score runs
So they laid it out so that tiny 'mo' lands right opposite the fold, huh
Is this Tokyo Sports or something lol (Tokyo Sports is a tabloid famous for gimmicky, sensational page layouts)
'Front office role' is just the official story — they're probably actually locking him up in some isolation room in Otemachi (Otemachi is where the Yomiuri Shimbun/Giants headquarters sits)
Exactly that. They need to reinforce the lineup in parallel too
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2109206051459604480/vid/avc1/1280×720/lGffl8iF_zcLN8Yb.mp4
No talking now, this isn't the time to laugh~
On the count of three, say 'bow!' and lower your heads~
Take your caps off~
Here we go~
Ready, bow!
Do they really have to go this far?
Are the players on our team kindergartners or something
There's no 'and no chewing gum!' though
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Shinnosuke Abe stepped down as manager in May 2026, and coach Hideki Hashigami took over as acting manager for the rest of the season. It’s worth noting that the reported scouting of Tokoda and Espinoza, as well as the foreign players’ futures, are all still at the “exploring” or “undecided” stage — no contracts have actually been signed or terminated. Where the thread split was over how to rate the foreign players’ abilities and the front office’s roster strategy, with mixed opinions on players like Whitley and Cabbage individually, while the news that Sakamoto and Tanaka will keep playing was largely welcomed. Note that this thread is a regular season-ending roster-management thread, and also covers practical matters like tracking open uniform numbers and active-roster registration counts.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager Thread 174.”
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