Yakult Swallows Release Eight Baseball Players
Listen to the story
The Yakult Swallows, a professional baseball team in Japan, have announced that eight players will be made free agents, meaning they will no longer be part of the team and can sign with others. Among them is a 25-year-old player who joined Yakult this season through a trade but finished the year without ever being promoted to the top team.
Seven of the eight released players come from Yakult's development squad, a group where younger or less experienced players train and compete separately from the main roster. These seven include Takumi Sakamoto, Yu Nishihama, Takuma Sato, and Takuma Nakagawa. However, Yakult plans to offer five of these players, including Sakamoto, a new development contract, giving them a chance to stay with the organisation in a different role.
The eighth released player is a left-handed pitcher who moved to Yakult from the SoftBank Hawks two seasons ago. Like the player acquired through this season's trade, he was also notified that his contract would not be renewed in his current form.
This type of announcement is common at the end of the Japanese professional baseball season, as teams review their rosters and decide which players to keep, release, or move to a development contract. Being declared a free agent does not always mean the end of a player's career; some players sign with new teams, while others, like those offered a development deal, may continue with the same club on different terms.
Fans and reporters will now watch to see whether any of the released players find new teams before the next season begins, or whether they accept Yakult's offer to continue training within the development system.
Vocabulary10 words
- free agent
- a player with no team who can sign with any club
- trade
- a move of a player from one team to another
- top team
- the main, highest-level team in a club
- development squad
- a group for younger or newer players to train and improve
- pitcher
- the player who throws the ball to the batter
- roster
- the full list of players on a team
- contract
- an official agreement for a player to join or stay with a team
- promoted
- moved up to a higher or better team
- renewed
- continued or extended for a new period
- notified
- told officially about something
📚 Ready to use these words in a real conversation?
Practice live with a real tutor on Preply.
Quiz
Answer key
1. He can sign with any team 2. He was never promoted to the top team 3. A new development contract
✅ Nice work on the quiz!
Keep the momentum going — book a live English lesson with a Preply tutor.
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The Yakult Swallows have announced that eight players will be made _____, meaning they can sign with others. Among them is a 25-year-old player who joined Yakult this season through a _____ but finished the year without being _____ to the top team.
Seven of the eight released players come from Yakult's _____ squad. These seven include Takumi Sakamoto, Yu Nishihama, Takuma Sato, and Takuma Nakagawa. Yakult plans to offer five of these players a new development _____.
The eighth released player is a left-handed _____ who moved to Yakult from the SoftBank Hawks two seasons ago.
This type of announcement is common at the end of the Japanese professional baseball season, as teams review their _____ and decide which players to keep, release, or move to a development contract.
Discussion questions
- Why might a baseball team decide to release eight players at once?
- What is the difference between becoming a free agent and signing a development contract?
- Do you think it is fair for a player to be released after one season without promotion? Why or why not?
- How do end-of-season player decisions like this affect fans of a team?
🎓 Enjoyed this story?
Turn today's reading into real speaking practice with a live Preply tutor.
