Hanshin’s Kento Itohara on the Brink? Rival Teams Watching Closely as His Future Hangs in the Balance

Praised by the farm team manager

There is growing speculation among people close to the Hanshin Tigers that 33-year-old infielder Kento Itohara, now in his 10th professional season, could be left out of the team’s plans for next season.

After attending Meiji University and playing for JX-ENEOS, Itohara joined the Tigers as the fifth pick in the 2016 draft. Under former managers Tomoaki Kanemoto (58) and Akihiro Yano (57), he became a regular at second base, third base, and shortstop, appearing in all 143 games for two consecutive seasons in 2018 and 2019.

“His trademark is his gritty style of play. At the plate, he would battle by fouling off pitches until he got one he could hit. He was able to withstand intense training, so Kanemoto, who placed particular emphasis on having players take a lot of swings during spring training, was especially fond of him. In the dugout, he actively shouted encouragement as a mood-maker and served as an example for the younger players.

The turning point came in 2023, when the team won the Japan Series. Former manager Akinobu Okada (68) moved Takumu Nakano (30) to second base, while establishing Seiya Kinami (32) at shortstop and Teruaki Sato (27) at third base as regular starters. As a result, Itohara was relegated to a pinch-hitting role.

He has been unable to reclaim a regular spot since then. Even this season, which he entered with his career on the line, he made the Opening Day first-team roster but was quickly sent down. He was called up twice afterward, but failed to make much of an impact,” said a former team official.

Itohara was demoted again at the beginning of August, and by August 24, he had appeared in just six games. All three of his starts came as the designated hitter.

“In the ninth inning of the farm-team game against Hiroshima on August 25, he hit a home run for the first time in a while. Farm-team manager Katsuo Hirata (67) praised him, saying, ‘His swing is compact and he’s clutch. I want the younger players to learn from him.’ However, in the first team, he has a .091 batting average with zero home runs and zero RBIs—numbers far removed from those of a pinch-hitting god. Manager Kyuji Fujikawa (46), who is pushing for a generational transition, does not rate him highly, and there are concerns that he could simply fade out of the picture,” the same source said.

Because Itohara is a longtime contributor to the team, the Hanshin front office reportedly intends to support his future as much as possible—including helping him find a move to another team—if he is ultimately left out of their plans. However, personnel officials from other teams who had been watching the farm games from behind home plate have been less impressed.

“Yutaka Yagi (61) and Shinjiro Hiyama (57), both of whom made their names as Hanshin’s pinch-hitting gods, were powerful hitters who had also served as cleanup hitters. Fumihito Haraguchi (34), who was the team’s top right-handed pinch hitter until last year, had the power to hit for extra bases when he got his pitch. Itohara doesn’t have that. The problem is that he doesn’t have the kind of one-swing threat that makes pitchers wary.

As for defense, Takahiro Kumagai (30) has already taken one utility spot. If Itohara had some particular standout skill, we could recommend him to a team, but as things stand, he lacks a decisive edge in any of the three areas—baserunning, hitting, or defense.”

On August 28, ahead of a crucial pennant-race series at Koshien Stadium, Itohara rejoined the first team.

At 33, he is hardly at an age where he should be considered over the hill. Fans will be hoping he can show that he still has plenty left in the tank—.