Even in the “major direct appeal” accompanied by Mitsunari Takahashi’s agent
On the 20th, Seibu pitcher Mitsunari Takahashi negotiated to renew his contract at the team office in Tokorozawa, Saitama. presumed) and sign. Contract renewals for all players on the team have been completed. Takahashi, the “big bird”, went into negotiations with lawyer Taku Fukaya, who has been acting as an agent since this year, and told the team about his intention to challenge the majors in the future. This year’s contract renewal was turbulent, with pitcher Kaiba Taira requesting a starter turnover and putting it on hold in the first round of negotiations.
At a press conference after the contract renewal, Takahashi said, “I’ve always had a vague interest in the majors, but after watching this year’s World Series there, I felt a strong desire to pitch and play here. I did,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. The overseas FA acquisition is expected to be in 2026 at the earliest, and the aim is to challenge early with the posting system, but GM Hisanobu Watanabe, who was in charge of the negotiations, said, “I just heard that he has an intention to transfer to the majors in the future, and I will ask him when to post. It’s not a story,” he stressed.
When it comes to the timing, Takahashi also said, “I don’t have a specific time yet…” “I hope it will be as soon as possible, but first I want to contribute to winning (at Seibu) and being number one in Japan. That feeling is the strongest,” he said somewhat sharply. This season, he served as the opening pitcher for the second consecutive year, marking his third double-digit record of 12 wins (8 losses) and an ERA of 2.20, which is fourth in the league. From the point of view of the team, Takahashi is only 25 years old, and after trial and error, he has finally grown to be the ace of the team, so the real intention is that he cannot let go so easily.
Seibu’s off-season began with the shock of the transfer of catcher Tomoya Mori to FA to Orix. As compensation for Mori’s human resources, he acquired pitcher Zhang Yi from Orix and infielder Naomasa Yokawa from Hanshin in the active draft.