Orix Buffaloes pitcher Soichiro Yamazaki threw his first bullpen pitch of the year on the 14th at Maishima in Osaka. He threw 30 pitches with catcher standing. He revealed that both the timing and his readiness were "earlier" than usual, and he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "The quality of my pitches and my feel for them weren't bad. I'm aiming to be able to throw with a proper catcher by the end of January."

He stated that his theme for this offseason is "I'm always late, so I want to start early," and honestly revealed the reason: "Because I'm anxious." He plans to enter bullpen seven times in January, and intends to have catcher from the third time onwards. Learning from his mistakes in previous years, he said, "If I try to get everything in order after camp starts, I'll get flustered. If I can do it once, I'll have more time and won't have to rush," as he looked ahead to February.

"It's not so much anxiety, but more like impatience. I think it's important to feel impatient (during the offseason)." In 2025, he appeared in 28 games, but he continued to pitch well in crucial situations towards the end of the season. In 2023, the right-hander earned 28 hold points in 53 games. Manager Kishida is also hoping for his return to the set-up man role, and he is well aware of the responsibility.