On the 15th, both teams announced the exchange trade of professional baseball player Toshiki Abe of Chunichi and pitcher Hideaki Wakui of Rakuten.
Abe, who is transferring from Chunichi to Rakuten, is 32 years old from Iwate prefecture.
In 2016, he was drafted 5th in the 2016 draft by Honda.
He is a right-handed batter and is one of the main players who is strong in chances and has a light defense.
Through the team, Abe said, "I've been indebted to Chunichi for seven years, and I've grown as a person and as a baseball player. I'm also very grateful to all the fans who have supported me. I will do my best at Rakuten. I am commenting.
On the other hand, pitcher Wakui, who is transferring from Rakuten to Chunichi, is a 36-year-old from Chiba Prefecture.
He joined Seibu in the first round of the draft from Yokohama High School in 2005, and has been active in winning the most wins with three teams, Lotte and Rakuten, and achieved a total of 150 wins last season.
However, he has just four wins this season.
Chunichi's policy of adding more depth to its starting pitchers and the use of mainly young fielders and Rakuten's desire for fielders who can hit the ball seem to be the same trade.
Wakui "I will do my best so that I can compete in the Japan Series"
Pitcher Hideaki Wakui, who decided to transfer to Chunichi, said through Rakuten, "Since this is my fourth team, I would like to start a new baseball life by asking Yuya Yanagi, a junior at Yokohama High School, to help me make new friends.・I've been in the league for 18 years, and the warm cheers of everyone in Tohoku have become my allies and I still feel warm.I will do my best so that I can play against them in the Japan Series."
Rakuten Manager Ishii “Abe is from Tohoku, I feel his destiny”
Regarding this trade, Rakuten general manager and manager Kazuhisa Ishii responded to an interview, explaining that the trade was a request from the Chunichi side, and said, "Abe is very attractive because he hits a lot of doubles, and he has various things. I'm actively thinking about using him as a defender in the outfield because I can protect my position.
Regarding pitcher Wakui, "When I talked about the trade from Chunichi in advance, he agreed to take on the challenge, so it was established. I would be happy as a friend if he builds up a wonderful career by taking advantage of the change in the environment." I was sending an email.