Rakuten’s Luke Voit Likely to Become a Free Agent Next Season… Struggling Eito Asamura Faces “Inevitable Major Pay Cut” and Risk of Release

Had become a dead weight

Rakuten has already lost any chance of advancing to the Climax Series (CS) on its own. Behind the scenes, it is said that “restructuring” for next season has already begun.

On August 23, the team announced thatannounced that infielder Luke Voit (35) underwent surgery on the 19th in the United States to treat a tear in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament and a rupture of the common tendon insertion site, receiving an Internal Brace and undergoing common tendon insertion repair surgery.Regarding his future, the team stated, “We will monitor his recovery and aim for his return.”

Boite, who won the American League home run title in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis, joined the Rakuten Eagles midway through last season in July. Despite appearing in only 60 games, he posted a .300 batting average with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.Anticipating a further leap in his performance, the team’s front office extended his contract for 240 million yen—a significant increase from his estimated annual salary of 50 million yen last season.“We expected him to be our main power hitter, but he failed to hit a single home run in 20 first-team games, disappointing our expectations, and was removed from the roster in mid-May. Since then, he has never been called up again and, having appeared in only 16 games in the farm league, has become a dead weight,” said a former team official.

Since the start of the season, the team has been batting new foreign player McCusker (28) cleanup.

“If things continue this way, Boit will become a free agent in the offseason, while McCusker—who has demonstrated his ability as a power hitter—is expected to have his contract renewed. It appears the front office is beginning to focus on acquiring foreign position players with NPB experience for next season,” (same source)

Besides Boit, another player whose future is drawing attention is veteran Eito Asamura (35). Due to a slump at the plate, he suffered the humiliation of being demoted to the farm team on August 7.

“While he became the first player born in the Heisei era to reach 2,000 career hits last season, he appeared in only 96 games—the fewest in his professional career, excluding his rookie year.He started every game this season as well, but in 87 games, he posted a .217 batting average with 9 home runs and 35 RBIs. His long-term contract—a four-year deal worth 2 billion yen—expires this year. Within the organization, there are voices saying, ‘His abilities are clearly starting to decline. He’s also becoming slower to react to fastballs.’

The team appointed new manager Masato Yoshii (61) midseason and has given him a degree of autonomy over roster management; it is expected to undergo a major overhaul this offseason. In particular, every team takes a hard line on how to handle veterans when the team is struggling.Asamura is no exception; reports are beginning to circulate that he may not only face a significant pay cut but could even be released in the worst-case scenario.“On the other hand, fellow veteran Takayuki Kishi (41) saw his position become precarious with the arrival of Kenta Maeda (38), but he recorded two wins each during the Interleague games—when he was called up—and during the summer when fatigue began to set in among the pitchers. It looks like talks toward renewing his contract will proceed this offseason,” said a team official.

In stark contrast to teams battling for the championship, a purge has begun among those quietly sinking into the B Class.