August 25, 2019, Toyama — Team insiders say that Lupin general manager Ron Collins has reached out to the agents of shortstop Shiro Adachi and relief pitcher Tadao Harada in hopes of keeping them happy for the foreseeable future. 

Adachi continues to be a strange case, a local hero who rarely seems to move the needle on the national scale.  His +5.2 ZR (and respectable bat) makes him the best shortstop in the league yet again, but he was, again, snubbed during All-Star voting.  He is making $390K this season, the last of a three year deal he signed earlier.

 Technically, the team could let the contract expire, and pay Adaci league minimum for the next three seasons before he would be eligible for arbitration.  “We’re not made that way,” Collins said during a bus ride interview he gave yesterday.  “Shiro is a major cog of our team, and we’ve all seen both his talents and his dedication.  And he’s just now entering the peak of his game.  I want to make sure that our starting shortstop doesn’t have to take a pay cut in 2020.”

 Harada has been an extremely versatile man out of the bullpen, and will be entering his arbitration seasons.  “We wouldn’t mind getting rid of the uncertainty that comes with arbitration,” Collins said about the idea of working with Harada.  And Tadao has been a gem to work with.  The guys love him.  It takes a big heart and a real desire for the team to do well to handle his situation this season as he did.”

 The “situation” Collins cited was the arrival of Jo Kichida to take over the closer role that Harada had settled into so well.  “The pair of me and Jo works well,” Harada said in a recent post-game presser.  “What’s not to like?”

 If the team can come to agreements with these two, that would leave only first baseman Kichibei Kumagai and outfielder Mashashi Yano with outstanding contract issues.