Who had the Cubs firing Toy Matsushita coming out of the All-Star break on their bingo card? According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Cubs have dismissed Matsushita, who had been serving as Seiya Suzuki's interpreter for the past 2.5 seasons since the Japanese outfielder signed a free agent deal in March 2022.
The weird part of this decision by the Cubs is that there really isn't any clear reason as to why they decided to let go of Matsushita now. However, the team official that did relay the news to Mooney did make one thing crystal clear, this had nothing to do with a gambling issue.
Via 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.
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.
Edwin Stanberry, who has been Shōta Imanaga's interpreter this season, as well as Nao Masamoto, who manages the organization's Pacific Rim operations and major-league video system, will now assist Suzuki with his media obligations.
I mean, my first thought was that Matsushita simply wasn't effectively communicating what the Cubs coaching staff wants to see out of Suzuki. We can all see that he has great talent and has had some great stretches at the plate. However, it's also bizarre to see Suzuki's lack of aggressiveness at the dish at times. Was there a miscommunication between the coaches to Toy to Seiya?
Mooney seemed to hint at that likelihood.
"His mixture of power, patience, mental approach, and contact skills are close to an ideal version of what the Cubs value in their hitters. Streamlining the communication could be a way for the team to make sure he's confident and decisive."
Regardless, what a bummer for Matsushita, who appeared to be a good dude and before this story was released there was never anything negatively said or written about him during his time in Chicago.
Suzuki entered the All-Star break with a 128 wRC+, which is third best on the team behind Michael Busch and Ian Happ, while also ranking 21st among all NL hitters. The right fielder has recorded an .813 OPS, slashing .270/.334/.479, with 13 home runs in 314 plate appearances.
I just don't know about the timing still of letting his interpreter go now? If you look at Suzuki's numbers month-by-month in 2024, he had a bad May, but otherwise has been great.
Seiya Suzuki Month-by-Month Numbers
March/April: 148 wRC+
May: 72 wRC+
June: 139 wRC+
July: 162 wRC+
I guess the Cubs expect an even better version of Suzuki, which is fair, always wanna strive to get better. But man, this came out of nowhere and poor Toy seems like a scapegoat.
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