Softbank Hawks left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada received a 55 million yen pay increase Thursday, re-signing with the Pacific League club for an estimated 200 million yen in annual salary.
Wada matched a career high with 14 wins against six losses with a 2.98 ERA in 24 starts this past season, posting double-digit wins for the fourth straight year.
He also won 14 games in his rookie season in 2003. "The figure reached the mark I was looking for," Wada said. "For next season, I'm only thinking about winning the championship and tossing manager (Sadaharu) Oh in the air." Elsewhere, Chunichi Dragons shortstop Hirokazu Ibata re-signed for an estimated 220 million yen, an increase of 20 million yen.
Ibata was the only one on the team who played all 146 games without missing an inning and won the Golden Glove award for the third year in a row. He batted .283 with eight homers, 48 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Hiroshima Carp third baseman Takahiro Arai re-signed for an estimated 123 million yen, up 35 million yen.