On the 9th, The Giants announced that Daiki Kikuchi had been transferred to Nippon-Ham in the active player draft held that day, and that they had acquired Keito Matsuura from Nippon-Ham-Ham Fighters.

Kikuchi commented through the team, "I had so many wonderful experiences during my four years with the Giants, and those experiences helped me grow as a person. I believe this transfer is a great opportunity for me, so I will definitely do my best. I would like to thank all the team members and staff for their help. And I would also like to thank all the fans for their warm support."

Manager Shinnosuke Abe also commented, "I hope he will use his experience with the Giants to fully demonstrate his strengths with his new team."

Kikuchi joined The Giants as the sixth pick in the 2021 development draft, was registered as a controlled player in 2022, and pitched in 50 games in 2023. In 2024, he pitched in 36 games for the farm team, posting ERA of 1.00, but did not pitch in the first team and was relegated to a development player. He was relegated to a controlled player again midway through this season, pitching in seven games for the first team with ERA of 1.80.