Shiba Taguchi, Ryukyu Sports News

Tuba City, Arizona – March 22, 2021: Shisa executives officially unveiled the team’s new spring training facilities two weeks ago, just prior to their first game against Shin Seiki, a game Okinawa lost 6-5. While sportswriters here in the U.S. have projected the Shisa to finish in the middle of the Rising Sun Division, there is a great deal of trepidation surrounding the club as they begin this new era for Japanese baseball.

The Pressing Question: Can Takahiro Ito Come Back?

Since posting a 171 ERA+ and hitting 45 home runs in just 111 starts in the 2019 League of the Rising Sun season, Takahiro Ito has fallen off the baseball map. After he struggled through the start of last season, Okinawa shipped Ito to the AAA squad, where he thrived, giving some hope that he could come back to big league ball. So far this spring, he’s again looked outclassed by the pitching he’s faced. If the Shisa can’t get quality production from Ito, this leads to other troubles as outlined below. The club’s Plan B at first base, Akira Goto, at least gives the team a chance.

The Position Battle: The Outfield

There are no real surprises on the horizon for the Okinawa infield, however, the Shisa have seven players competing for five spots in the outfield. LF/RF Kojuro Ishiyama has made the race very interesting this spring. Bucking the trend of most hitters last year, Ishiyama saw his production at the plate increase, his OPS+ jumping from 80 in 2018 to 110. This spring, he has been on a tear (.435/.480/.783). Additionally, the club has been taking a long look at prospect LF/RF Avery Sorensen, who has also had a solid spring. While you might be able to pencil in Trashmaster Morales in center, and Tadamichi Sato (127 OPS+) and Michael Burton (156 OPS+) also appear to be safe bets based on their performances last year, some insiders claim that Sorensen and the two Yanos (Ticky-tacky and Mashashi), all left-handed hitters, are competing for a single spot on the roster. Rule 5 acquisition Mashashi Yano appears to be the front runner here. Outfield depth doesn’t appear to be a problem for the Shisa.

The Big Prospect: Isei Yamaguchi

Most scouts agree that Yamaguchi has middle-of-the-rotation upside, but he got hammered in his nine appearances for the Shisa last season (6.15 FIP in 38 innings pitched), and his numbers at AAA (including a distressing tendency to give up home runs) didn’t really give observers cause for excitement. This spring, however, he looked good in his first start for Okinawa, four shutout innings against Bakersfield. After the Kokan trade, the Shisa are in need of some solid hands in the starting rotation, though expect to see the club ease Yamaguchi into that role by giving him some innings out of the pen to acclimate him to PEBA hitting.

The Nagging Problem: Dead Money

Of all the teams in the PEBA, Okinawa may be the least able to afford non-productive player contracts, however, they may have a tremendous portion of their 2021 payroll not playing on their active roster in 2021. Ito ($6.4M), Marcos González ($8.4M), Ticky-tacky Yano ($5.4M), and Anthony Hough ($4.6M) could all potentially be left off the Shisa opening day roster. That’s $24.8M in salary, on a team with a projected payroll of about $61M, not contributing to the team’s success on the field. If it chooses, the club could be rid of three of these players in 2022, but Ito is a long-term problem. He’s guaranteed $8M next year, and $10M in the year after that. This was a reasonable contract for a player putting up the numbers he was in 2019, but the club must be looking at this contract in a very different light now.