Nippon-Ham catcher Kengo Yoshida renewed his contract at ESCON on the 25th, signing for 12 million yen (estimated amount), an increase of 3.5 million yen.

In his first year after being drafted, he played in 47 games with a batting average of .217, 4 Home Run, and 9 RBI. While the team was competing for the top spot, he spent the latter part of the season with the farm team, and reflected that it was "the worst season ever."

Still, he felt he had gained some confidence at the farm team, and commented, "I got a good feeling and the camp went really well, so I want to keep that feeling going while also facing my challenges head-on and prepare to enter next season having made great progress in terms of batting."

In the new year, he will be apprenticing under DeNA's Miyazaki, as he did last offseason. "I want to work hard this offseason and enter training camp so that I can seize my chance, or rather my opportunity to play, in the position I'm given," he said enthusiastically.

Related News

・ [Nippon-Ham] Yuma Imagawa 's contract renewal with slight increase in salary. With the birth of his first child, he wants to "remain a professional baseball player for even one more day."
・ [Nippon-Ham] Yuki Umebayashi renews his contract, planning to travel to the US again for joint training with Betts: "Even if they say it'll only be about three hours..."
・ [Seibu] Ryosuke Moriwaki renews his contract: "The job of a professional baseball player is to pitch in the first team. I can't be discouraged by small things."
・ [Hiroshima] Nakazaki Shota's comeback has been renewed for 62 million yen, an increase of 10 million yen. "I was patient and they used me."
[Chunichi] Muramatsu Kaito renews his contract with a 5 million yen reduction, vowing to regain his regular position "so I can get my position back"