Yomiuri Giants could lose three players to free agency
by Gen on Nov.17, 2011 @ 4:56 pm, under NPB
Kazunari Tsuruoka had met with GM Hidetoshi Kiyotake and Operations Director Shinji Sasamoto for about 30 minutes on Wednesday before telling reporters that he was planning on exercising his FA option. The Yokohama Bay Stars and Rakuten Eagle are said to be interested in Tsuruoka if he becomes a free agent.
Shinji Takahashi also met with the Giants yesterday and placed their offer on hold. While he didn't meet with reporters after his talks with the team, someone close to him told reporters that while he did enjoy playing for the Giants, he also wanted more playing time.
Saburo Omura is also a question mark.
Sponichi notes that the Giants have only lost 5 players to free agency (since 1993), two if you don't consider players going overseas. Those two players: Norihiro Komada to the Yokohama Bay Stars after the 1993 and Hiroki Kokubo to the Softbank Hawks after the 2006. Of those two, Komada was "home-grown" talent.
