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The story
In NPB’s free agent market, it’s reportedly expected that the Hanshin Tigers will offer Lotte pitcher Kazuya Kojima a contract worth roughly ¥1 billion over three years. The lefty, nicknamed “Mr. Opening Day Starter,” is also drawing interest from the Giants and DeNA, and on the 5ch “Nandemo Jikkyo G” (anything-goes live-commentary) board, posters traded a wide range of takes — from shock at the size of the offer to debates over Kojima’s career numbers, how he’d fit his new home ballpark, and how he’d actually be used if signed.
Hanshin enters FA race — set to offer Lotte’s Kazuya Kojima roughly ¥1 billion over 3 years, bolstering the rotation by landing “Mr. Starter”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Now guys at this level are pulling down ¥300 million+ a year. What times we live in.
Nah, we don't need him lol
Though honestly what we actually need to reinforce is the batting lineup, lol
Show that much sincerity faster than anyone else and it's a lock.
Surprisingly, SoftBank hasn't been in the FA market for three years now.
Hanshin's actually been out of it for a while too.
It's been something like 6 or 7 years for Hanshin, since Nishi.
Hiroshima's probably bowing out.
they've been slacking on both FA signings and import pickups for years, so they're probably just swimming in cash.
take that away and he's actually a pretty good pitcher.
He just doesn't suit the Pacific League.
2019 ERA 4.31, 54.1 innings
2020 ERA 3.73, 113.1 innings
2021 ERA 3.76, 146 innings
2022 ERA 3.14, 143.1 innings
2023 ERA 3.47, 158.1 innings
2024 ERA 3.58, 163.1 innings
2025 ERA 3.72, 145 innings
Career ERA through last season: 3.61 over 923.2 innings
This season (2026) ERA 3.53, 117.1 innings
Looks like he's never once posted a 2-point-something ERA
Super consistent, that's solid.
At Jingu he'd probably be even scarier than Naruse (in a bad way).
He's a pretty average pitcher, but racking up innings is his strong suit.
¥150 million or so sounds about right.
They've got that Tokyo-area advantage, so it's still up in the air.
The Giants already added Ogasawara and Takemaru.
If Otake can make it work, Kojima can too.
That's obviously SoftBank, hands down.
But Kojima's not on SoftBank's radar.
Morishita
Tokoda
Takahashi
Espi
Kojima might hold up fine at Koshien.
Just steer clear of that gimmicky home-run bandbox Jingu, though.
That guy's definitely MLB-bound, no way he stays.
SoftBank's gonna come after him for real, so that'll be a tough ask.
Kojima's road ERA
2019: 5.52
2020: 3.86
2021: 2.76
2022: 3.39
2023: 3.61
2024: 4.33
2025: 4.48
2026: 3.43
That's a landmine.
At this level Hanshin's probably already got better pitchers than this.
People saying 'don't need him' based on old standards just aren't keeping up.
Yeah, those college-draft first- and second-round righties who got hyped as 'MLB-ready' aren't doing a thing in the starting rotation.
Background and key talking points
Kazuya Kojima joined Lotte as their first-round pick in the 2019 draft and has built his reputation on durability, throwing over 100 innings in seven straight seasons, with a career ERA of 3.61. The thread’s central debate was how to weigh that track record given that his home park, ZOZO Marine Stadium, favors pitchers, and how that would carry over to the very different dimensions of his rumored destinations, Koshien and Jingu Stadium. Indeed, his road ERA has swung anywhere from the high 2s to over 5.00 depending on the season, which is a big reason opinions on him are so split. It was also noted that while the Giants and Hanshin show up in free agency almost every year, SoftBank hasn’t made a free-agent move in several years, which came up repeatedly as a point of comparison. As of this report nothing has been officially announced by any club, so the outcome could still change depending on the final terms and whether other teams counter.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyo G”) thread “Hanshin jumps into the race for Lotte’s Kojima, ¥1 billion ready for 3 years lolololololol.”
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