Professional baseball, Nippon Ham announced that it has acquired pitcher Masayoshi Tanaka as compensation for Kensuke Kondo, who exercised the right of FA = free agent and transferred to Softbank.
The 28-year-old pitcher Tanaka, who is 1.88 cm tall and specializes in throwing fastballs, joined Softbank in 2017 as the first draft from Soka University.
After becoming a professional, he suffered from injuries to his right shoulder and right elbow, and in his six years as a professional until last season, he pitched 34 games, threw 36 innings, had no wins, and had an ERA of 4.25.
At the 2016 draft meeting, Tanaka was nominated as one of the best pitchers in college baseball, throwing a fastball with a maximum speed of 156 km/h. I could not do it.
Regarding the acquisition of Tanaka, Nippon-Ham's general manager Atsunori Inaba said, "He's a player I've been watching since he was an amateur, and he has a lot of potential. I am fascinated by the strength of his straight line, and I hope he will demonstrate his strength in his new world."
Through Softbank, pitcher Tanaka commented, "I was honestly surprised when I received the call, and I haven't sorted out my mind yet, but I am honored to be selected as a force by Nippon-Ham."