Tohoku Rakuten Eagles hitting coach Toshiaki Imae is among the candidates being considered for the club's next manager, team sources said Friday.
The Eagles, who narrowly missed the three-team Pacific League postseason Climax Series in fourth place, said the previous day former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii will not return as their manager after the end of his three-year contract.
In 2023 as a hitting coach, former Chiba Lotte Marines and Eagles third baseman Imae, 40, pulled the Rakuten offense out of a slump after being promoted from the farm team.
Imae spent the last four seasons of his 18-year career through 2019 with the Sendai-based Eagles.
He was named the Japan Series MVP in 2005 after batting .667 with 10 hits in the Marines' four-game sweep of the Hanshin Tigers.