Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 475 - 88: Salary Negotiation

For Japan’s sports news media and professional baseball audience, the player contract movements during the baseball off-season are definitely one of the hottest and most followed topics of the year, even without qualifying it as "one of."

During the "contract renewal" period from November this year to January next year, major media outlets report on the players’ negotiation progress daily, like a serialized drama, generating heat rivaling that of the playing season.

Although it’s only mid-November now, and the renewal processes of various teams have just started, keen and well-informed professional journalists have already dug up some major stories:

[Rakuten’s Tanaka Masahiro, bidding process begins, more than 10 Major League teams vying, who will win the Divine Son?]

[Seibu’s Yongjing Xiuzhang declares domestic FA! Rode and Yakult are interested!]

Just as the off-season curtain rises, two pitchers of Eiji Sawamura Award caliber have announced the exercise of their free agency rights to seek new teams:

Tanaka Masahiro, naturally, needs no further mention. At 25, he’s met the age requirements for overseas transfer. After seven full years in Nihon Professional Baseball, he’s won every possible honor, and staying in Japan offers no further challenge for him.

According to professional media predictions, Tanaka Masahiro is expected to sign a contract lasting about seven years, with total compensation exceeding 100 million U.S. dollars, averaging over 1 billion yen annually, a contract that neither Rakuten nor all of Nippon Professional Baseball can offer;

Not to mention, among the bidding teams are old American powerhouses like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, which would further boost his commercial value upon moving to the United States, potentially doubling his earnings.

As for the other, although Yongjing Xiuzhang was once a pitcher of Eiji Sawamura Award caliber, he’s experienced a severe drop in form in recent years. Particularly before the 2013 season, he was embroiled in a scandal reported in the Bunshun, which directly led to a breakdown in his relationship with Seibu Team;

Considering his annual salary of over 200 million yen, the budget-constrained Seibu Lions eventually chose not to renew his contract, ending their 10-year association.

Meanwhile, in the meeting room at the headquarters of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, employees from various departments were also enthusiastically engaged in related work.

The SoftBank Hawks’ Personnel Formation Manager wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and immediately asked his subordinate beside him, "Who’s the next negotiation target?"

"Head, wait a moment, let me check..." The formation department’s backbone member, facing the leader’s inquiry, quickly opened the folder in his hand. After a brief confirmation, he replied, "Among the players who performed well this season and require a significant salary increase, there’s only Lin Guanglai left."

The instant this name was mentioned, the formation manager’s eyebrows furrowed, and a wry smile appeared on his face as he shook his head and said, "Ah, it’s come to this, has it... quite troublesome..."

It’s not that the formation manager has any objections to Lin Guanglai; in fact, he’d be quite willing to offer Lin Guanglai a long-term big contract to secure his future directly.

But as the direct person responsible for communicating the new contract amounts with players, the formation department has many aspects to consider:

Purely based on Lin Guanglai’s performance this season and his contribution to the team, even offering him a top team salary, like Shetsu Shou, wouldn’t be too much.

Considering the uniqueness of Dual Swordsmanship and Lin Guanglai’s high commercial value, he could even individually hold the top salary in the entire team.

But real life is not a baseball game, where a simple "ding" with a cheat can solve all problems; salary involves numerous factors beyond a player’s performance, including duration of service and locker room status.

Among the already negotiated contracts of Softbank Team, Shetsu Shou unquestionably holds the top salary. His contract for the new season will be 400 million yen.

In terms of origin, Shetsu Shou is directly chosen by Manager Akiyama, a homegrown ace of Softbank’s system, having served the team for five years, undeniably one of "our own";

In terms of performance, he’s clinched titles as a finisher and won the Eiji Sawamura Award as a starter, contributing a vast number of innings almost every year for the team—as in the just concluded season, he was one of only two pitchers on the Softbank Team to meet the required innings limit. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Not to mention, in the locker room, he’s one of the most senior figures; he also made significant contributions to Softbank Team’s 2011 league victories and Japan’s Number One achievements.

Finally, adding up all factors, including the natural premium associated with the starting pitcher position, culminates in this 400 million yen contract.

In terms of performance, there’s no criticism of Lin Guanglai. His rookie season stats were among the team’s leaders, setting a series of fastest and youngest records in history;

But his sole issue is his youth: youth signifies potential and capital, but it also illustrates future uncertainty and a lack of experience—especially in Nippon Professional Baseball, where seniority and sustained performance are highly valued. By convention, even the most talented rookie’s second-year salary usually can’t be exceptionally high, as this might easily lead to severe locker room issues.