A reliable new player with a wealth of experience and the ability to win on the big stage
Saitama Seibu Lions have made aggressive reinforcements this offseason. In particular, we would like to focus on Masashi Kuwahara, who joined the team by exercising his free agent rights.
Kuwabara has a wealth of experience, having played in a total of 1,239 games over 14 years, and he is strong on the big stage, having been named MVP in the 2024 Japan Series, so he is expected to be of great value in his new environment, which is full of young players.
We will introduce Kuwabara's characteristics and strengths by looking at the various achievements and indicators he has recorded. We will also look back on the achievements of this master who has demonstrated high-level play in all areas of the team, including running, attacking, and defending, and consider the positive impact that Kuwabara's addition will have on the team.
He has been a key player for Yokohama DeNA, combining productivity as hitter with excellent defense ability.
The various indicators that Kuwabara has recorded so far by year are as follows.
In 2021, he played in 135 games and had a .310 batting average, and in 2025, his most recent year, he reached the batting order and had a .284 batting average. In addition to his good hitting, he also has the punch to achieve double-digit Home Run seasons three times, and will be a valuable asset to Saitama Seibu Lions, which has been plagued by a lack of scoring.
hitter He has a .722 OPS for his career, which is above a certain level. He has posted an OPS of .740 or higher for three consecutive years since 2016, just after becoming a regular, and an excellent .843 OPS in 2021. He is impressing.
In addition to his hitting accomplishments, another major strength is his reputation for outfield defense winning the Mitsui Golden Glove Award in 2017 and 2023. The addition of Kuwabara, who is highly capable offensively and defensively, is likely to bring significant positives in a variety of aspects in his new position.
Further improvement is needed in batting and stolen base bases
struck out rate, calculated by dividing the number of struck out by the number of at-bats, is also above a certain level, at .158 for his career. Furthermore, he has had excellent results with struck out rate of .130 or below in four of the last five seasons, demonstrating his low struck out and excellent contact ability.
On the other hand, his career Walk rate, calculated by dividing the number of Walk by the number of at-bats, is .069, which is by no means a high figure. His IsoD, which shows the difference between on-base percentage and batting average and is one indicator of batting eye, is also .062, which is not at a level considered excellent.
Kuwahara's tendency to struck out and Walk few batters indicates an aggressive batting style. As a result, his career BB/K (struck out divided by Walk, an indicator of batting eye like IsoD) is .437, which is roughly average.
It is also interesting to note that he has recorded a BB/K above his career average in four of the five years since 2021, posting a career-high .587 in 2021 and a second-high .508 in 2025. Looking at the progress of his BB/K, which indicates that he has improved his ability to control strike zone compared to his younger days, it could be said that he has become a more refined hitter in recent years.
Kuwahara's speed has earned him a total of 99 stolen base, but his career average for stolen base rate is not particularly high at .664. However, his accuracy has improved significantly over the past two years, with eight stolen base stolen base 2024 and ten in 2025, both without any failures. These figures also show that he has further evolved as a player since entering his 30s.
outfield has been a major change for Saitama Seibu Lions, a team that has had a long-standing problem.
Saitama Seibu Lions won two consecutive league championships starting in 2018 with a strong batting lineup as its biggest weapon, but Shogo Akiyama, the unshakable centerpiece of the team, left in the off-season of 2019. From the following year onward, the team was unable to fill the center fielder hole left by Akiyama, and for a long time the outfield lineup was the team's weak point.
However, in 2025, the Manaya Nishikawa player played 124 games with a batting average of .264, 10 Home Run and 25 stolen base as the top hitter, and also played well on the defense side on numerous occasions. In addition to the fact that Nishikawa is grabbing center fielder regular playing time, Seiya Watanabe and Shinya Hasegawa In addition, Nishikawa is getting a regular spot on the outfielder team, and both Nishikawa and Nishikawa have reached the regulation batting lineup, making this a season in which the rise of young players is more noticeable than in the previous year.
With the bright signs beginning to emerge, the addition of Kuwabara, who has a wealth of offensive and defensive experience, could be a significant factor in resolving longstanding issues. Seiya Watanabe Considering that Kuwabara played third base defense in fall practice, the addition of Kuwabara, who has a proven track record, to the outfield lineup is expected to increase flexibility in the use of players and intensify competition from next season onward.
Just like when he was with The BayStars, will he be the driving force behind leading his team to the top in his new home?
Before Kuwabara became a regular player in 2015, The BayStars were in the midst of a slump, finishing fifth or lower for eight consecutive years. However, since 2016, when Kuwabara became a key player for the Yokohama DeNA, they have grown into a powerhouse, making it into Class A seven times in ten years. This progression in the team's performance also shows the importance of Kuwabara to the team's rapid progress.
Will this speedy, hard-hitting outfielder, nicknamed "Gutsman" for his role as the team's driving force leader, bring positive energy to his new home and contribute to the team's rise to the top? We hope that Kuwabara's new challenge, in his 15th year as a professional, will bear fruit and produce positive results for both himself and the team.
Written by Ryota Mochizuki
