Lotte's Makoto Kosaka Traded To Kyojin

Shock!

A quick look at Nikkan Sports (in Japanese) shows shows the deal. The 32 year old infielder (he looks younger than that) will be getting a 2,000-man yen raise to 1.1-oku yen, getting #2 as BigManZam mentioned.

Kosaka's speed has been dwindling the past few years, as has his playing time. [Profile Page] He did greatly improve in 2005 over 2004, though.

I'm shocked. Torn. Like BigManZam, I really like Kosaka.

My pesimistic prediction: The Giants will try to use Kosaka as a leadoff hitter but find that he doesn't get on base often enough and his speed isn't what it used to be, resulting in Kosaka getting benched more and more, and eventually used as a pinch hitter in bunting situations or as a pinch runner.

This isn't the kind of news to get just before going to bed. ;-(

So what position is he going to get? They're not going to replace Nioka at short because of his pop. I'm guessing 2nd base, but where does that put Nishi?

I was thinking Kokubo goes to first, Nioka converts to third, Kosaka at short, and Nishi at second. I just want to know when the Giants plan on giving a shot to Yoshikawa and Nagata in the infield.

They sure missed their chance with Kiyohara leaving to try out Yoshikawa. Instead of rushing to get another 30 something year old, they should've tested Yoshikawa late last season. It was the perfect opportunity to test all the rookies since they were going nowhere mid season.

The Giants tried Suzuki and Yano in the outfield, so hopefully they get someone young to replace Rhodes and not get another older player for the position.

It's Kokubo all over again, just this time the Marines are getting cash. It's not what you want to hear, definetly.

There's something I missed, anyway - what exactly happened with Kosaka in the post-season that he never played again after PL Stage One?

It's hard for me to envision Kosaka as a starter. I think he was brought in mainly as insurance in case Nioka gets injured and Masahiro Nagata doesnt' show anything in spring training at the plate. You are also going to probabnly see a lot of the Kamei kid.

Kokubo is reportedly not a happy camper. One MLB team asked me about Kokubo's availibility and I think Hiroki is likely a goner after this season.

It also appears that Joe Dillon will be the Opening Day first baseman barring a complete flop in spring training.

The interesting thing to me about the Giants is that they ostensibly attempted to get younger at the end of last season and then brought in three aging warhorses in Powell, Toyoda, and Noguchi and are going to once again feature Kudoh, and they held on to Kuwata. So just how serious are they? It's hard to say.

Kosaka, I think, is intended mainly for the pinch runner role. Running is an area where the Giants do have a serious problem.

I share your confusion about Kuwata - he had a dreadful season last year, but I can only think that the Giants want to keep him until he reaches his 500 victories. Kudoh, though, did pitch well and so there are some grounds for retaining him.