Stable set-up… Breakdown due to pros and cons of transition to starting lineup, second contract negotiation
Seibu pitcher Kaiba Taira held his second contract renewal negotiations at the team office in Tokorozawa, Saitama on the 4th, signing an annual salary of 170 million yen (estimated amount), an increase of 70 million yen compared to this season. . In the first negotiation held on the 2nd, the negotiation with the team was interrupted, which strongly hopes to pass from the current intermediary to starting pitcher, and plans to intervene next season. However, in this day’s negotiations, the team gave up and said with a smile: “I can start from next year.”
The annual salary presented was the same amount as in previous negotiations, and it seems the only point of dispute was whether or not to move into the starting lineup. “I’m glad I was able to honestly express my opinion and have a discussion with him,” Taira said. “I could fail or be very successful, but since I will, I want to do my best as a starter so that I can contribute to the team rather than being a go-between.”
Hisanobu Watanabe, general manager (GM), said, “It was a tough decision (transfer the starting pitcher), but please do your best because you will be the starting pitcher.”
After joining Seibu in 2018, Taira played in 54 league games in 2020, his third year, dropping 33 catches to become the Pacific Rookie of the Year. In 2021, he was also a suppressor, with 3 wins, 4 losses, 20 saves and 21 catches in 62 games. This season he pitched a league-high 61 games with 1 win, 3 losses, 9 saves and 34 catches. He won the title of best intermediary for the first time. All 203 games pitched in 1st Army in total were a relief.
After the first round of negotiations, GM Hisanobu Watanabe said, “As a compromise, I’ll have him play in the back (relief) next year, and the following year, I’ll have him start as desired. The team will prepare the back for so.” Still, Taira said, “Since the 2019 offseason, I’ve been saying, ‘I want to start.’
(Hirohisa Miyawaki)
