If someone had asked David MacKinnon early in the offseason about what he thought spring training would be like in 2024, he might have guessed that he would be in Japan preparing for another season in Asia with the Lions.
He would have been right — but with a twist.
MacKinnon is indeed in Japan and once again wearing a Lions uniform. The part he did not see coming is that the uniform belongs to the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions instead of NPB’s Seibu Lions, where he spent 2023. His stay in Japan will also be much shorter. Samsung is holding its spring camp in Okinawa until March 6 and will then depart for South Korea for the KBO campaign.