On the 14th, Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes pitcher Soichiro Yamazaki threw his first bullpen pitch of the year at Maishima in Osaka. He threw 30 pitches with catcher standing. He revealed that he is "earlier" than usual in terms of timing and preparation, saying, "The quality of the pitches and the feel weren't bad. I'll be able to have catcher sit down properly by the end of January."

He spoke about his theme for this offseason, saying, "I'm always late, so I feel like I need to hurry up," and honestly explained the reason, saying, "I'm anxious." He plans to go into bullpen seven times in January, and intends to have him sit in as catcher from the third time onwards. Learning from his mistakes from last year, he looked ahead to February, saying, "If I try to finish things after camp starts, I'll get impatient. If I can do it once, I'll have more time and I won't have to rush."

"I feel anxious, or maybe impatient. I think it's important to be impatient (during the off-season)." In 2013, he pitched in 28 games, but he continued to pitch well at key moments towards the end of the season. In 2011, the right-handed pitcher recorded 28 hold points in 53 games. Manager Kishida is also hoping for him to return to being a setup man, but he is fully aware of his role.