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The story
According to a Hochi Shimbun report, Orix has withdrawn from negotiations to sign Hiroshima left-handed free agent Hiroki Tokoda, leaving Chunichi as the only team still in the running — a topic that lit up 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board. Posters mocked Orix’s now-familiar last-minute pullout with cries of “There they go again, ‘No-rix’!” (a 5ch nickname poking fun at Orix for repeatedly backing out of FA bids), while opinion split on whether Tokoda should actually move to Chunichi. The thread also dug into why the Hanshin Tigers went for Kojima instead of Tokoda, and compared Tokoda’s value against fellow Hiroshima free agent Shota Morishita, with debate continuing over whether to prize a veteran with a deep track record or a player whose tendencies are still unknown to opposing teams.
What people said
From Hochi Shimbun
More than that, isn't that team basically a zombie at this point?
Ori (Orix): "Oh! Chuni showed up, huh? Wouldn't it be funny if we pulled our hand back right here, lol."
Chunidora: "Wha—!?"
Chunichi's actually one of the wealthier teams — comes up every time, like clockwork.
There was that "cricket" guy though
That guy was a different caliber, so a "declare-and-stay" is fine this time, apparently
There's that "No-rix" again…
Because he's cheaper?
Maybe it's because facing Central League teams means they already have Tokoda's data figured out, so they don't really need him. A lefty who can eat 180 innings like Kojima becomes the priority.
He eats innings, plus he trains in the off-season with Ohtake, his college senior. Probably a safer bet than Tokoda, who's rumored to be drawing interest from multiple teams.
For that matter, won't they struggle to even fill all 28 protected roster spots?
Honestly, I don't think they'll have anyone decent left over.
Why's Morishita so popular?
Nah, Morishita's better.
31 and 29, right?
That gap actually matters quite a bit.
Tokoda was the 2016 draft class.
Morishita was the 2019 draft class.
That's a 3-year difference in school year.
Morishita's probably heading to SoftBank anyway.
No way.
The fact that the Giants are focused solely on Morishita says it all.
After seeing how the Giants have treated Kai and Norimoto, I can't imagine anyone wanting to join them as a free agent.
They haven't produced results, so that's just normal treatment, no?
Norimoto's been given a rotation spot, and sure, Kai lost his position, but the Giants still found him a new role.
If anything, that's pretty good treatment, no?
Sorry, what do you mean?
Morishita's from Oita Prefecture after all.
His hometown doesn't really matter that much, does it?
Nah, Chunichi's going to get a lot stronger starting next year — if he wants to chase a championship, the timing's actually good.
If the money's better, he should just go.
I think Chunichi's run support is better too.
Even setting money aside, between the current Chunichi and Hiroshima, it's clearly Chunichi.
And on top of that, their top 3 starters in the rotation have all had Tommy John surgery.
With Espino gone too, they genuinely won't be able to get through games.
But the thing with Kanbayashi is he's all "spec" (tools/potential without results). Pitchers, worst case, can still be used as innings fillers.
That's actually really good though.
Tokoda, who you can reasonably expect to perform at a solid level, should be the higher priority.
Teams already have data on a guy like Tokoda, so he'll get hit.
Kojima's basically an unknown quantity, which works in his favor.
I get what you're saying, but Tokoda — with a 2.76 ERA this season — is the safer bet.
That logic applies to a guy who's just starting out, not to Tokoda, who's posted solid numbers for several years running.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Under NPB’s free agency system, a player’s current team either retains him through a “declare-and-stay” announcement or loses him to another club after negotiations. This time the focus is Hiroshima left-hander Hiroki Tokoda: per a Hochi Shimbun report, Orix has withdrawn from the race to sign him, leaving Chunichi as the only team still negotiating — and that’s what kicked off the thread. “No-rix” is a 5ch-coined jab at Orix’s habit of backing out of FA negotiations at the last minute year after year, and it’s being used here in that same spirit. Where posters split was over how to weigh Tokoda’s value: one camp argued that having so much data on him from years of facing Central League teams works against him, while another argued that several straight years of solid results make him the more reliable pick — a divide that also shaped how people read Hanshin’s decision to prioritize Kojima over Tokoda. There’s also discussion digging into why fellow Hiroshima free agent Morishita is rated more highly, pointing to the three-year gap between their draft classes (2016 vs. 2019) as part of the explanation. Worth noting: none of this is settled — it’s all based on reporting at this stage, and no final destination has been confirmed.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Orix Withdraws From Tokoda Bidding — Chunichi Now the Only Team in the Race.”
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