Professional baseball, Seibu, has announced that it has acquired sixth-year right-handed pitcher Hiroshi Kaino as compensation for Hodaka Yamakawa, who moved to SoftBank after exercising his FA = free agent rights.
Kaino is a 27-year-old right-handed pitcher from Hyogo Prefecture who joined the club in 1 as the No. 2019 draft pick from Toyo University, and has experience with the Japan national team.
With a strong straight line and a sharp forkball, he appeared in 46 games as a reliever last season, posting a 3-1-8 record with a 2.53 ERA.
Seibu is expected to be used as a reliever as the challenge of reinforcing its relievers, and Kaino is expected to be used as a reliever, saying that he is "an attractive pitcher who is not in the Lions who can hit with a straight fork."
Seibu was supposed to be able to acquire one player from the 28 players protected by SoftBank as compensation for Yamakawa, who was suspended indefinitely from the club for an indefinite suspension from the official match due to a series of incidents involving a female acquaintance, who exercised his FA rights only in Japan in the off-season.
Pitcher Kaino's induction press conference will be held in the future.