The Chicago Cubs are reportedly making a minor but possibly significant change, letting go of Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki's interpreter, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.
“Toy Matsushita will no longer serve as Suzuki’s voice in interviews with American media, a team source said Thursday, framing it as an organizational decision to go in a different direction. Those responsibilities, which also included relaying messages from the front office and the coaching staff to Suzuki, will be absorbed by two Cubs staffers.
Nao Masamoto, a longtime Cubs employee who manages their Pacific Rim operations and major-league video system, will continue to support Suzuki. Shota Imanaga’s interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, will also assist in communications with Suzuki.”
Mooney also explains the theorical reasons for the Cubs making such a move for the frequently dinged up outfielder.
“The biggest story of this year’s Seoul Series was the gambling scandal that engulfed Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter. The Cubs, the team source stressed, are not dealing with a similar situation here.
The Cubs want to continue to be known as a destination for Japanese players and seen as a place where they can reach their full potential. Masamoto is so trusted that he remained good friends with Yu Darvish even after the Cubs traded the Japanese pitcher to the San Diego Padres following the 2020 season. Stanberry has done an exemplary job of accentuating Imanaga’s personality during interviews and helping him assimilate into the team’s culture.”
Suzuki and Matsushita had worked together through his first two-and-a-half seasons in the majors.
Cubs and Dodgers to begin 2025 season in Japan
Suzuki, Shota Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani are going home. Four of the biggest Japanese stars in Major League Baseball will play in Tokyo next March when the Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in two games to begin the 2025 MLB season.
MLB released the entire 2025 schedule Thursday, highlighted by the Tokyo Series. It will be the second consecutive season that the Dodgers open their campaign on foreign soil. LA split a two-game series with the San Diego Padres in Seoul, Korea this March. The 2025 Tokyo Series will take place on March 18 and 19 of 2025.
The games between the Dodgers and Cubs will be must-watch baseball in Japan. Ohtani is enough of an attraction to bring the masses, but the other Japanese players are beloved in their home country too. The cheers in the Tokyo Dome will be deafening not just for Ohtani but also for Imanaga, Yamamoto and Suzuki.
Japan has long been a hotbed for baseball and consistently churns out MLB talent. The Japanese national baseball team leaves little doubt that they are among the best in the world, winning three of the first five World Baseball Classic tournaments
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