Rakuten Exploring a Trade for Hanshin Catcher Ryutaro Umeno as Both Sides Seek a Better Fit

At this rate

After former manager Hajime Miki (49) was dismissed and Masato Yoshii (61) was appointed as the new manager in a surprise move, the Rakuten Eagles are reportedly considering their next move.

“Rakuten appears to be conducting behind-the-scenes research into acquiring veteran Hanshin Tigers catcher Ryutaro Umeno (35). Umeno has been sharing catching duties with Seishiro Sakamoto (32), Torai Fushimi (36), and Rinshiro Shimamura (22) at Hanshin, and this season he has spent a significant amount of time in the farm system. Although he immediately recorded a hit after being called up to the first team on June 23, showing he still has plenty left in the tank, he is said to still be hoping for a move to another team,” said a sports newspaper reporter.

In fact, the SoftBank Hawks, who acquired catcher Yudai Yamamoto (27) from the DeNA BayStars in a trade, had also reportedly listed Umeno as a potential target.

“CBO Kenji Johjima (50) saw infielder Ryoya Kurihara (29) practicing as a catcher and told the front office, ‘That position is not that easy. Go find a proper catcher.’ They learned that Umeno, who is from Fukuoka Prefecture, wanted to return home and set their sights on him, but his high annual salary of 120 million yen became an obstacle.

The Hawks then turned their attention to Giants catcher Shinnosuke Yamase (24). However, that deal also reportedly fell through because the two sides could not agree on the players involved in the trade. Around that time, the trade talks for Yamamoto, which had been quietly negotiated for a long time, began moving again,” said a Pacific League team source.

As a result, the plan for Umeno to move to his hometown team fell through. The aforementioned sports newspaper reporter says Rakuten, having learned of the situation, began seriously investigating a possible acquisition.

“Rakuten’s catching group has struggled with low batting averages, and defensively, neither Hikaru Ohta (29) nor Hikaru Ito (37) can be considered completely stable. The team likely believes it will be difficult to change the current situation with those two.

They appear to be attracted to Umeno’s experience handling pitchers, his strong blocking ability, and his mental toughness in aggressively leading the pitching staff. If he changes environments, his clutch hitting ability could return.

Meanwhile, Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa (45) cannot be said to have a particularly high evaluation of Umeno. After being instructed to spend some time adjusting in the farm team during spring training, Umeno reportedly appeared discouraged, saying, ‘Do I have no choice but to quit now?’

He could exercise his free-agent rights and move to another team after the season, but given the circumstances, a sudden trade would not be surprising.”

Could Hanshin really part ways with Umeno, who has long served as the Tigers’ starting catcher?