In professional baseball, a 2-2 exchange trade was announced for Hanshin's Ohga Egoe and Yukiya Saito, and Nippon-Ham's Ryo Watanabe and Yuji Takahama.
Egoe, who is transferring from Hanshin to Nippon-Ham, is a 29-year-old from Nagasaki prefecture.
In 2015, he joined the Hanshin Tigers in 3rd place in the draft from Komazawa University.
In his second year, he hit seven home runs and was expected to be a future mainstay candidate, but after that, he was used more as a pinch runner and as a defensive player, and since his father, he has not had a hit in the first team for three years in a row. was.
Saito, a 27-year-old from Yamagata Prefecture, joined Hanshin in 4th place in the draft in the first year of Reiwa.
He has pitched in 20 games this season, mostly as a middleman, going 0-1 with a 5.01 ERA.
On the other hand, the two who are transferring from Nippon-Ham to Hanshin are both infielders, and Watanabe is 27 years old from Ibaraki Prefecture.
He joined Nippon-Ham in 2014 as the first draft pick from Tokai University Kofu High School in Yamanashi.
In the first year of Reiwa, he became a regular second player and played in 132 games, the highest number of his career.
He has only appeared in 21 games this season, batting 20%, 3 minutes, 3 minutes.
Similarly, Takahama is 26 years old from Saga prefecture.
In 2015, he was drafted by Nippon-Ham in 7th place out of Yokohama High School.
Last season, he played in 107 games with a batting average of 20%, 6 minutes, 2 home runs and eight home runs, but this season, he has only played in seven games.
Egoe "This trade is a chance"
Taiga Egoe, who is transferring from Hanshin to Nippon-Ham, said, "I was a little surprised at the suddenness, but I think this trade is an opportunity, so I want to make the most of it. I got goosebumps when I heard the cheers at a packed Koshien stadium. I will do my best so that I can come back to Koshien in good shape in the friendly match, so please continue to support me in the future.”
Pitcher Saito "So that I can return the favor"
Pitcher Yukiya Saito said, “It was a difficult four years, but I think I was able to do my best thanks to the warm support. I will do my best, so I would appreciate it if you would continue to support me.”