Seiya Suzuki (28. Chicago Cubs), the main hitter of the Japanese national team, is expected to resign.
Suzuki complained of pain in his left side ahead of the Arizona Camp exhibition game on the 26th (Korean time) and could not participate. He is waiting for the MRI examination results, but in fact, it is likely that he will withdraw from the WBC.
‘Nikkan Sports’ predicted, “If you overdo it with a side injury, it gets worse and the pain lasts for a long time. Considering the situation in the first round with 10 days left, it will be inevitable not to attend.”
The Cubs, who signed a 5-year, 85 million dollar contract with Suzuki, are also unlikely to overdo their main hitter. Suzuki was already scheduled to return home to join the Japanese national team along with Shohei Ohtani on the 2nd, but canceled it. It is interpreted as a move that assumed his resignation.
Suzuki has extensive experience in international competitions. He played as the main hitter in the 2017 tournament and Premier 12 in 2019, and led the gold medal as the 4th hitter at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It was expected that he would form the center of the batting line with Ohtani, a top-class hitter in the major leagues, Munetaka Murakami with 56 home runs, and Masataka Yoshida, who joined Boston.
But they are all lefties. Suzuki was the only right-handed hitter on the center left-hander line and a corner outfielder, which accounted for a high portion of the team. It is being accepted as a more painful power gap for the Japanese national team. 바카라
‘Nikkan Sports’ said, “Coach Kuriyama has no intention of overdoing Suzuki. Among the preliminary registered players, Hanshin outfielder Koji Chikamoto and Hiroshima Nishikawa Ryoma are being mentioned as candidates.”