Kensuke Kondoh, Nippon Professional Baseball’s WAR leader since 2023, has been sidelined with a back injury. The SoftBank Hawks outfielder is expected to undergo surgery immediately, likely ruling him out for at least three months.
Kondoh’s Superstardom – After beginning his career with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Kondoh signed a seven-year deal with SoftBank following the 2022 season. Long regarded as one of NPB’s most disciplined and consistent hitters with a batting average over .300 and an on-base percentage north of .400 during his time in Hokkaido, Kondoh has since elevated his game even further in Fukuoka. Since joining the Hawks, he’s become the undisputed top position player in Japan, averaging more than 31 doubles, 23 home runs, 101 walks, and seven stolen bases per season, along with a .959 OPS and 34 defensive runs saved in left field.
Now 31, Kondoh has battled chronic back issues throughout his career. His most serious setback came in 2017, when a herniated disc limited him to just 57 games. Despite the injury, he batted .413 that year, putting him on pace for the highest single-season batting average in NPB history had he stayed healthy.
What Now for SoftBank? – If any team is built to withstand the loss of a star, it’s SoftBank. The Hawks still managed a .650 winning percentage last season despite future Hall of Famer Yuki Yanagita missing most of the year. Their offense remained the best in NPB, leading the league by a wide margin with a 120 team OPS+, as younger players like Tomoya Masaki and Tatsuru Yanagimachi stepped up in Yanagita’s absence. Kondoh himself missed the end of the regular season and wasn’t at full strength during the playoffs, so the team is no stranger to playing shorthanded.
Even so, losing Kondoh for the entire first half of the season (and possibly longer) poses a major test for the defending Pacific League champions, who are 0-3 to start 2025 after being swept by the Lotte Marines at home on opening weekend. Star third baseman Ryoya Kurihara is also currently out with an injury, though he’s expected to return by the end of April. Kondoh was slated to hit second in the order this season and shift over to right field, but with his absence, Hiroki Kokubo’s squad must now improvise.
One obvious solution is to move Yuki Yanagita back to right field, which would free up the DH spot to be rotated between several players. Another option is a right field platoon, pairing left-handed hitters like Tatsuru Yanagimachi or Yoshiyasu Sasagawa with right-handed bats such as Naoki Satoh or Soichiro Ishizuka. Outside of Yanagimachi, these players remain largely untested at the NPB level but have flashed significant potential on the farm and are hungry for a chance to prove themselves.
SoftBank’s projected lineup without Kondoh or Kurihara
CF Ukyo Shuto
SS Kenta Imamiya
DH Yuki Yanagita
1B Hotaka Yamakawa
LF Tomoya Masaki
RF Platoon (Yanagimachi, Sasagawa, Satoh, Ishizuka, etc.)
2B Taisei Makihara/Jeter Downs
3B Richard Sunagawa
C Takashi Umino/Kenta Tanigawara
SoftBank’s projected lineup without Kondoh, with Kurihara
CF Ukyo Shuto
DH Yuki Yanagita
3B Ryoya Kurihara
1B Hotaka Yamakawa
LF Tomoya Masaki
SS Kenta Imamiya
2B Taisei Makihara/Jeter Downs
RF Platoon
C Takashi Umino / Kenta Tanigawara
SoftBank’s projected lineup when Kondoh and Kurihara both return
CF Ukyo Shuto
RF Kensuke Kondoh
DH Yuki Yanagita
1B Hotaka Yamakawa
3B Ryoya Kurihara
LF Tomoya Masaki
SS Kenta Imamiya
2B Taisei Makihara/Jeter Downs
C Takashi Umino/Kenta Tanigawara
Photo: Kensuke Kondoh of Japan hits RBI single to score Yuhei Nakamura during the third inning of the first round Pool B game between South Korea and Japan at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, March 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
