🧢Is it like an exchange trade? ❓Should SoftBank appoint Seiji Kobayashi, who is likely to be left unprotected due to compensation for Takuya Kai, who transferred to the Giants as a free agent? ❔⚾ JAPAN

He also wore a mask for Samurai Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, contributing to the team’s best batting average of .385, helping them win the gold medal, and supporting Shohei Otani as one of the main catchers at last year’s WBC, where he won the championship. This season, he wore the starting mask for 102 games and participated in 119 games, posting good results with a batting average of .256, 5 home runs, and 43 RBIs. His batting average is the second highest in his career after .260 in 2019, and his home runs decreased by five from last year’s 10, but his doubles jumped from 16 to 25, which is the highest number in his career and has been a constant challenge. There seemed to be an improvement in his hitting ability. This season’s stealth prevention rate was .284, which was 5th in the league, but the “Kai Cannon” is still alive and well, as he won his seventh Golden Glove Award. The value of that effort will be gone from Softbank, which aims to win consecutive league titles next season and regain the number one position in Japan. The top candidate to replace him as the regular catcher is Takashi Unno, the 2nd pick in the 2019 draft (Tokai University). This season, he played in 51 games while wearing a starting mask in 38 games as a limited catcher when Ozeki Tomohisa and Ryosuke Otsu started, but his batting average remained at .173, 2 home runs, and 10 RBIs. Second is Kenta Tanigawahara, who was drafted in 3rd place in 2015 (Toyohashi Chuo High School). He is an offensive catcher who takes pride in his hitting ability. He played catcher in 65 games on the farm this season, the most on the team, but only started in three games in the first team. In addition, there is Hiroki Minei, an offensive catcher who transferred from Yokohama DeNA as a free agent during the 2022 off-season, but he only appeared as a substitute in three games as a catcher this season. Concerns about defense remain. The aforementioned critic said, “If the Giants’ Oshiro and Chunichi’s Kinoshita had remained as free agents, they would have tried to acquire them, but both of them had already been decided to stay.If the remaining members remained, Unno would be the main focus. “We probably have no choice but to do so, but there remain considerable concerns.”