Seibu Lions has acquired Masashi Kuwahara, who declared free agency from DeNA.

Kuwahara played in 106 games this season, batting .284 with 6 Home Run, 27 RBI, 10 stolen base and an OPS of .730. He also won the Golden Glove Award for his outfield defense in 2017 and 2023.

Considering the results this season with Kuwabara's addition, Manaya Nishikawa has established himself as a regular outfield after playing in 124 games this season with a batting average of .264, 10 Home Run, 38 RBI and 25 stolen base, and Seiya Watanabe, who hit double-digit Home Run despite being a rookie, is reportedly trying out for third base during fall training camp. If he aims to become a regular at third base, Nishikawa and Kuwabara are almost certain to be in the starting outfield starting line-up for the opening game.

Shuta Tonosaki, who saw increased playing time from third base to right field towards the end of the season, is not a guaranteed regular considering his batting performance this season of .234 with 5 Home Run and 34 RBI. A year ago, there were no regular outfield, but with Nishikawa and rookie Watanabe producing results this year, the position of the young players and center fielders who had not yet secured a regular spot has suddenly become more difficult.

There will be fierce competition for one outfield spot. If Kuwabara is to play primarily in outfield as he did towards the end of this season, there are players like Tonozaki, Shinya Hasegawa, who reached the required number of at-bats for the first time this season, and Takayoshi Yamamura, who can play both outfield. Furthermore, there are players like Junichiro Kishi, Shota Hiranuma, and Takuya Hiruma, so the competition is likely to intensify. If Kuwabara's addition leads to an improvement in the overall outfield, it will be a plus for the team.