Sakurai contributed to the league championship with 8 wins in 2019, Katsumata joined from Orix last year
The giants announced on the 7th that they had notified pitchers Shoichi Ino, pitchers Toshiki Sakurai, and infielder Shoki Katsumata that they would not sign contracts for next season.
Ino joined as FA from DeNA. In the first year of 2021, he pitched in 5 games, with 0 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 14.40. This season, he won his first victory following the transfer in a relief match once morest Yakult (Jingu) on August 6, but ended up with only 12 pitches in two years. His DeNA era marked 50 wins in 8 years. He exercised his free agency rights and signed a two-year deal with the Giants, but failed to live up to expectations.
Sakurai joined the Giants in 1st place in the 2015 draft from Ritsumeikan University. He struggled with injuries and went winless for two years, but in 2019, his fourth year, he went 8-6, mainly in the starting lineup, and played a big role in winning the league. He had a 2-0 record as a middleman this season.
Last year, Katsumata received a notice from Orix that he was out of force and was asked for a training contract, but chose a free contract. He signed a training player contract with the giants this season and returned to registration under control at the end of July, but he was notified that he was out of force for the second consecutive year.
(Full-Count editorial department)
