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The story
On September 29, 2026, Chunichi Dragons manager Kazuki Inoue announced he would step down at the end of the season, and at the same time revealed that six players had been designated for release. The list included 2023 second-round pick, pitcher Keishi Tsuda, but notably absent was first-round pick Ko Neo, who has also been exploring a conversion to pitcher. On a 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread, opinions split between “wouldn’t he actually be better off cut loose and free to find his own way?” and “there’s still hope — get him moved via the Active Player Draft,” with the discussion spreading into broader criticism of Chunichi’s player-development system as a whole.
10/1/2026
On September 29, Chunichi Dragons manager Kazuki Inoue announced he would resign at season’s end, taking responsibility for finishing in the league’s bottom tier for a second straight year. At the same time, as if trimming the roster ahead of October’s draft meeting, the club announced that six players would not be re-signed for next season — the so-called “roster cut” notice.
Among those told they were “let go” was Keishi Tsuda, the club’s 2023 second-round pick, along with other players in their mid-20s who were once expected to break out — a fresh reminder of just how unforgiving the pro ranks can be. More roster trimming is expected once the Climax Series wraps up, but some fans are, ironically, let down that this particular cut list didn’t include one name in particular.
Source: jprime.jp / Original article here
What people said
It's not too late to start those now
His career's only just beginning
Why not try him at catcher?
His arm's strong enough, surely…
College guys who can contribute right away are way better value.
Who cares how they looked at Koshien.
Even their college picks don't pan out at Chunichi.
Bright Kenta…
Somewhere far from the big city?
Or get thrown into the grind at some loaded team with a stacked third-string farm squad?
No chance.
That's wishful thinking, not reality.
The actual Ko Neo got 250 plate appearances and hit .174 with 1 homer, 0 steals (caught stealing 3 times).
That's way too far from Nagoya to feel like any kind of hometown tie.
It's basically closer to Toyama than Gifu.
Chunichi's been terrible at developing talent forever.
They just hope for the best, never learn from their mistakes, and never bother importing know-how that works elsewhere — a clueless, make-it-up-as-you-go organization.
Yamamoto Masa → broke out thanks to Ike Ikuhara
Imanaka → broke out on advice from Shigeru Sugishita and Sei Nishimoto
Yano → broke out thanks to Katsuya Nomura
Son Dong-yol → broke out on advice from Sei Nishimoto
Tagami → broke out after moving to SoftBank
Yoshimi → broke out after joining ex-Hanshin pitcher Shimoyanagi's self-training camp
Takahashi Hiroto → broke out after joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto's self-training camp
Yamai → broke out in Australia
it's obvious whose hand is behind this.
Even if he'd stuck with being a position player, it was never going to work out.
His raw tools are pretty thin, so maybe the Fighters could take a flyer on him?
Chunichi just isn't good at developing first-round position players.
A Neo-for-Raoh trade?
Nice. Make it happen.
Hanshin whiffed in the lottery twice and still ended up with Kinmoto.
Is he basically this generation's "Handkerchief Prince"? (a star kept around for his popularity and image despite thin pro results)
Ending up at Chunichi was just rotten luck.
Comparing his glove work at short against other high-school-level shortstops, I'd rank him below Tatsunami and Uno.
Though if he were a lefty pitcher, his current frame would be just fine.
His build isn't that different from Yoshinobu Yamamoto's.
He could probably work as a reliever — they should just trade him somewhere already.
Even as a reliever, mop-up duty is about his ceiling.
He just doesn't have what it takes to hold things together when he's off his game, so he can't be trusted in a winning-pattern role.
Even if it's just mop-up work, I think they should trade him somewhere he'll actually get used.
I don't want to see him left to rot on the bench.
Background and Key Points
Ko Neo entered pro baseball as the Dragons’ first-round pick in the 2019 draft as a shortstop, and has since bounced between infield, outfield, and now a possible pitching conversion. According to figures cited in the thread, in one season he hit just .174 with 1 home run and 0 stolen bases (caught stealing 3 times) over 250 plate appearances — still far short of the offensive production once expected of him. This round of roster cuts was announced alongside manager Kazuki Inoue’s resignation, and covered six players including pitcher Keishi Tsuda. Posters in the thread were split on why Neo’s name was missing — some read it as the club simply going easy on him, others as a sign the team still believes in his potential. The “Active Player Draft” is a system introduced in 2022 that lets teams move players who are getting little first-team playing time to other clubs, and it’s raised here as a possible escape route for a player like Neo who seems to be stuck in limbo. Some posts also raised suspicions about the club’s player-development culture and ties to local boosters, but it’s worth noting these are unverified personal opinions rather than established fact.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “‘Set Him Free From Nagoya’ — Chunichi’s Roster Cuts Skip ‘Ko Neo’, the Troubled First-Round Pick Turned Pitching Convert Who Needs an ‘Active Player Draft’ Move [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”
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