Cubs Dismiss Seiya Suzuki’s Interpreter Ahead of Second Half

In a move that takes on more perceived significance in the wake of the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal, the Cubs have parted ways with Seiya Suzuki‘s interpreter. Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that Toy Matsushita has been relieved of his duties, which will now fall to two other members of the organization. Though nothing has been shared publicly at this point, the impetus for the move is reportedly a desire to “go in a different direction.”

That leaves the Cubs’ motives up for interpretation, pun fully intended, but it stands to reason that a few things were being lost in translation when it comes to the baseball aspect. Even though Suzuki has been one of the team’s best offensive producers, there have been some issues when it comes to the consistency of his plate approach. Then there’s his defense, which went from Gold Glove-caliber in Japan to completely whiffing on routine flies this season.

While Matsushita certainly can’t bear the full blame for those issues, the front office and/or coaching staff must have believed some of their messages and instructions were not being relayed properly. The hope is that Nao Masamoto, who runs the team’s video system and Pacific Rim operations, will be better able to support Suzuki along with Edwin Stanberry, the interpreter for Shōta Imanaga.

Jed Hoyer has been saying all along that the improvements had to be internal, so maybe this is what he was talking about all along.