Kota Yamashita, the “Ichiro of the Reiwa Period”: His decision to leave the Giants and a possible new destination

It was a painful departure for the Giants. Kota Yamashita (21), known as the “Ichiro of Reiwa”, has decided to seek a place to play for another team.

On November 19, the Giants informed Yamashita that he would not sign a contract for the next season. Initially, the plan was to sign him as a developmental player, as they did this season, but he wanted to play under the control of the team and left. He will now wait for scouts from other teams, including joint tryouts.

Yamashita is a young hopeful who joined the Giants as a first-round draft pick in 2007 out of Kendaigaku Takasaki High School in Gunma Prefecture, and registered as a restricted player in July. In the second team, he hit .332 with seven home runs and 40 runs batted in, and suddenly became the leading hitter. It was the first time in 27 years, since Ichiro (then of the Orix), that a first-year high school graduate had hit first on a farm.

Yamashita’s bat control is outstanding. He is so enthusiastic that he even visits his coach’s room after practice to ask for guidance, and he plays first base as well as outfield, his main job. It is said that he will eventually become a hitter who can hit both long balls and light balls, just like the Orix slugger Masanao Yoshida. He was expected to be a future No. 3 hitter, hitting in front of the main gun, Kazuma Okamoto.

Fatal bone fracture

Manager Tatsunori Hara was also excited about Yamashita’s future and thought he could be a regular in the starting lineup in 2008. However, …….

In May, just before the opening day of the season, which was delayed due to the new coronavirus, I broke the hooked bone in my right hand. A broken wrist can be fatal to a hitter, so I returned to the field in August, but this time I broke my right elbow.

The team had no choice but to put Yamashita back on the development squad so that he could concentrate on his treatment. Even though he had a high batting average of .366 in the third base this season, he had almost no experience in the first base. The Giants’ policy of signing him to a training contract was probably unavoidable.

The “star of training” turned down a contract with the Giants and was given a free agent contract in his third year as a professional. Yamashita, who has a lot of potential, will be wanted by any team that does not have a lot of outfielders. There are many teams that are candidates for him. Hiroshima, whose main gun Seiya Suzuki is likely to move to the majors, and Chunichi, whose youngsters such as Akira Neo are struggling. …… The most right wing is an unexpected team.

I’m not sure what to make of it. I’m not sure what to make of it.

The 21-year-old Yamashita will be a good fit for the club. Also, the club’s ties with the Giants have been strengthened by the transfer of Sho Nakata, who was involved in a violent incident, midway through this season. In the past, Nichiham has also accepted Tomohiro Niioka, who was involved in an affair with a female celebrity, as well as Ohta and Kenji Yano, who failed to blossom with the Giants.

Will the injury-plagued, unfinished talent be able to blossom at his new home?