Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes pitcher Alen Kuri attended contract negotiations at the team's facility in Maishima, Osaka on the 18th and signed a contract for an annual salary of 160 million yen, an increase of 20 million yen, plus performance-based pay (amounts are estimated).

This season, the first year of free agent transfer from Hiroshima, he completed the season without ever leaving as a part of the starting rotation. He won a team-leading 11 wins (8 losses) in 164 1/3 innings and showed an expected performance with a ERA of 2.41 . In the second game of CS 1S (ES CON FIELD) on October 12th, he made his first relief appearance of the season from the 4th inning and did not runs 4 innings against the Nippon-Ham batting lineup. Even so, his self-evaluation was harsh, saying, "I was sticking to throwing inning, so I didn't reach my goal of (200) inning at all.

Next season will be the final year of his two-year contract. He will turn 35 in September, but he declared, "I'm aiming for 230 inning. I want to do my best and never leave mound."