On the 23rd, Orix Buffaloes Kaisei Tomatsu pitcher Yoshiyuki Higashimatsu attended contract renewal negotiations at the team's facility in Maishima, Osaka, and signed a contract for an annual salary of 6.5 million yen, an increase of 500,000 yen (estimated amount). Looking back on the exchange at the meeting, he said, "I want next year to be a year of great progress for me, so I told him I would do my best as a valuable member of the team."

He joined the team as the third pick in the 2011 draft from Kyoei (Aichi), and in his second year as a professional this season, he made his first appearance on the opening day first team as a relief pitcher. He made his professional debut on July 19th against Lotte (ZOZO Marine), and on the 27th against Softbank Hawks (Mizuho PayPay Dome), he made his professional debut as a starter, giving up three runs (two earned) in 3 1/3 innings, showing some solid performance.

In the end, he finished with 0 wins and 2 losses in 7 games, ERA 10.80. The left-hander, who gained valuable experience, summarized his performance by saying, "I was able to do better than I expected, and I felt a little tired because I played a lot more baseball throughout the year than last year, but... I will definitely do my best to perform well (in the first team) next year."

After the season ended, he participated in the Puerto Rico Winter League (WL), where he undertook training for over a month. In addition to his signature fastball exceeding 150 km/h, he also seemed to have gained some confidence in the accuracy of breaking ball, such as change-up "I had the opportunity to talk with players pitching in the majors, so it was a great experience for me to be able to baseball at such a high level," he said, looking ahead.

Next season will be his third year as a professional. "I want to do well as a starter. First of all, I want pitch in the fifth inning, so that I can create a good game and bring momentum to the team," he said enthusiastically.

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