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The story
It was reported on October 11 that the Yomiuri Giants are considering entering this winter’s free agency market. The targets are Hiroshima Carp pitchers Nobuhito Morishita and Hiroki Tokoda, and the team is reportedly doing its homework in case either pitcher exercises his domestic free agency rights, while also looking to bolster its batting lineup. This season, the Giants’ rotation was solid — Inoue reached the qualifying number of innings pitched and finished with 10 wins, and Takemaru won 11 games in his rookie year — but their home run leader was first-year import Dalbec with 25, while the top Japanese hitters, Oshiro and Sasaki, managed only 10 each. On the thread, users debated where the two pitchers might land, argued over the Giants’ history of poaching players like Maru and Otake from Hiroshima, and voiced frustration that the team keeps adding pitching without ever fixing its lack of offense.
It emerged on the 11th that the Giants are considering entering the free agency race this offseason. Strengthening both pitching and hitting is essential for a comeback next season. The club is reportedly doing its research in case Hiroshima’s Nobuhito Morishita (29) and Hiroki Tokoda (31) declare free agency, and is expected to keep exploring ways to reinforce its position players as well.
Among the Giants’ starters this season, Inoue was the only one on the team to reach the qualifying number of innings pitched, finishing with 10 wins, while Takemaru won 11 in his rookie year. Despite injury absences for Togo and Yamazaki, the team built a strong rotation that also included midseason addition Ogasawara. The biggest remaining issue is the offense, but the club is carefully watching the situation around Morishita and Tokoda, who look set to be the headline pitchers of this winter’s domestic free agent market.
On the hitting side, first-year import Dalbec hit 25 home runs, but the top Japanese home run hitters, Oshiro and Sasaki, had just 10 apiece. With the lineup in clear need of reinforcement, the team is expected to look into further additions. Last offseason, the Giants struck a surprise agreement in January with Norimoto, who had declared for international free agency from Rakuten. The club is preparing for every possible scenario.
Source: hochi.news / Original article here
What people said
Bring him in and the whole clubhouse will go rotten
Domestic FA only nets you pitchers who couldn't make it to the majors
Of course it's underwhelming
He's FA-eligible too, right?
Kikuchi signed a lifetime contract
I don't recognize anyone's face except Ma-kun, Sakamoto, and Norimoto
You'd at least recognize Maru, lol
It's tampering if a team directly contacts another team's player before he declares free agency,
but a report saying "once he declares, we'll move on him" isn't tampering.
The media's just writing this on their own —
the club hasn't officially announced anything
That's only because he's on the Carp
With real run support from another team's lineup, he could still win double digits
A 5-win pitcher on the Carp or Rakuten is worth 10 wins anywhere else
now it's all starting pitchers
Kawaguchi, Eto, Maru, Otake, Nishiyama
Losing Otake didn't really hurt Hiroshima
If anything, the Giants giving up Ichioka in that deal feels like the bigger loss for them
Kawaguchi, Eto, Maru, Otake, Nishiyama, Kimutaku
So Manager Hara really is making his comeback next season…
Since Arai took over they haven't landed a single decent player
the pitching staff is going to be in real trouble from next year on
It was Ogata who tanked the results — Sasaoka was brought in to rebuild
Then COVID hit out of nowhere… but even through that he handled the draft and FA retention solidly
I'd like to see Sasaoka back in charge again someday
Tokoda's going to Orix, surely
Hanshin might make a move for Morishita, but Orix is a possibility there too
If Hanshin does move, it'll probably be for Sakakura — a catcher who can also play first or third would be a huge addition for a Hanshin team that's likely to lose Sato
Morishita's probably headed to MLB or SoftBank
Tokoda probably wants to go home to Osaka — Kuri and Nishikawa are there too
The only ones you can really count on are Inoue, Togo, Iori, and Ogasawara
For the 5th and 6th spots, probably Nishidate, Ma-kun, and a new import
Iori's shoulder pain might never fully heal
Why does Kuwata get such high marks when the pitching staff is in such rough shape…?
when they can barely scratch out a single run
Well, the Giants' whole philosophy now is pitching-and-defense-first baseball
It's a total 180 from the old Giants
Or watch high school baseball instead —
you'll get to see young players grow by leaps and bounds, which is exactly what you want
Honestly, an NPB top team shouldn't be a development ground in the first place
Lately the Giants seem to have lost their minds and are drifting toward a development-focused approach,
but that's a job better left to other teams
Background and Key Debate Points
Domestic free agency requires at least 8 years on the top-team roster (7 for players who joined straight out of high school) plus a certain level of performance, and it’s rare for two ace-caliber pitchers to become eligible at the same time. Morishita and Tokoda are both centerpieces of Hiroshima’s rotation, so it’s not just the Giants — multiple teams are likely watching their situation closely. Opinion on the thread split over the Giants’ continued focus on pitching reinforcements: while the rotation was solid this season, commenters pointed to a clear weakness at the plate, noting that import Dalbec led the team in home runs. It’s also worth noting that, as of this report, neither pitcher has actually declared free agency — a team directly contacting a player before he declares would violate tampering rules, so this “research” remains at the preparatory, report-driven stage. The Giants have a history of acquiring Hiroshima-raised players before, including Yoshihiro Maru and Hiroshi Otake, which is part of why some commenters pushed back against framing this as the Giants “plundering” talent yet again.
*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisoku+) thread “[Baseball] Giants Considering FA Market Entry! Advancing Research on Hiroshima’s Nobuhito Morishita and Hiroki Tokoda.”
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