It is that time of year again. After welcoming in 9 new guys via the draft, the team has to part ways with roughly the same number of men. At present, only one will be retiring, while the rest are likely to be looking for work elsewhere. And for a couple of these, that “elsewhere”…
Unlike most teams, Hanshin manager Akihiro Yano did not divulge the team’s direction as to which player they would enter the sweepstakes for in Round 1 of the draft, which took place on Monday, October 26 in Tokyo (but mainly via online meetings). The team has not yet finished cutting unneeded players, but typically by…
Sources: Daily / Sponichi / Sponichi With the 2020 Amateur Draft coming in less than a week, the Hanshin Tigers have started to declare their intentions concerning players’ contracts for 2021. Among the players not being offered new deals in 2021 are veterans and fan-favourites Kosuke Fukudome (OF, 43) and Atsushi Nohmi (LHP, 41). Fukudome…
Originally tweeted by 阪神タイガース (@TigersDreamlink) on August 31, 2020. Multiple sources, including the Hanshin Tigers official social media accounts, are reporting that longtime ace closer Kyuji Fujikawa (40) has expressed his desire to retire at season’s end. He has a 1-3 record on the season with 2 saves and a 7.20 ERA. Fujikawa has twice…
NPB announced an agreement reached between the Orix Buffaloes and the Hanshin Tigers on the 28th. The teams swap mid-career pitchers: the Tigers will deal lefty Yuya Iida (29) to the Buffaloes, who will send righty Keisuke Kobayashi (27) to the Tigers. Iida joined the Tigers in 2018 after being dealt from the SoftBank Hawks…
Source: Sponichi Annex Hanshin infielder Kento Itohara revealed to reporters on the 20th that he has been practicing batting tennis balls off a tee at the team’s Naruohama facility since the 19th to reduce the burden on his body (which would be heavier if he hit real baseballs). “I was hoping to start batting off…
Source: Nikkan Sports Tigers infielder Kento Itohara, who is recovering from a broken hamate bone in his right hand, started playing catch at the team’s farm facility in Naruohama on August 4th, according to reports. The bone was broken in the July 22 game against the Hiroshima Carp (at Koshien), and he had surgery on…
Tonight, the Tigers added yet another player to the already-long list of guys who are in need of medical attention. At some point early in the Wednesday night game against the Hiroshima Carp (which ended in a 3-3 tie), captain Kento Itohara broke the hamate bone in his right hand and will likely need at…
Former Hanshin star Matt Murton (2010-15) has been doing a lot of online talks with current NPB imports during the pandemic. He did a few with Spencer Patton (Yokohama DeNA BayStars) and Steven Moya (Orix Buffaloes), but this time he hooked up with two new Tigers: outfielder Jerry Sands and reliever Jon Edwards! Have a…
June 19 could not come sooner. We have been waiting for Opening Day long enough. It’s time to play ball! Here is the official announcement from the team about its Opening Day top squad roster. Currently, only four starting pitchers are registered, so by next Tuesday, two more starters will get called up while two…