Yakult announces acquisition of Haruki Nishikawa, Shinya Kayama, and Tama Masuda “triple reinforcement” to regain V | Full-Count

Nishikawa, who is no longer active at Rakuten, is a speedster who boasts a four-time stolen base title.

Yakult announced on the 17th that they have reached a basic agreement to acquire outfielder Haruki Nishikawa, who was no longer available from Rakuten, and pitcher Shinya Kayama and infielder Tama Masuda, who were no longer available from Softbank, for this season. did.

Nishikawa won the stolen base title in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2021 during his time with Nippon Ham. He joined Rakuten as a non-tender free agent until 2021. He played in just 35 games this season, hitting .181 with one home run, four RBIs, and two stolen bases, and was declared inactive.

Kayama played an active role as a “left-handed killer” in 2019, participating in the “Premier 12” as a member of Samurai Japan. He had a sluggish ERA of 5.25 in 23 games this season. Masuda, 23, joined Softbank in 3rd place in the 2017 draft. He played in 52 games, including 35 this season, batting .202.

After winning the league for two years in a row, Yakult finished in 5th place this season. First, they acquired three players and moved towards a comeback.

(Full-Count Editorial Department)