Seibu Lions' first-round draft pick, catcher Taiga Kojima (22) of Meiji University, entered bullpen for the first time on the 15th, the third day of the second round of joint voluntary training for rookies, at Carmineque in Tokorozawa City, Saitama.

He stood and catch pitch from fellow development draft third-round pick, right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Saito (22) of Tokushima, Shikoku League, for about 10 minutes. After pitch, they were seen chatting.

It's been a while since he last played in a real game, and he expressed relief at having successfully completed his first job, saying, "bullpen was really clean and the ball was easy to see, but it's been a while since I've seen pitching, so at first my eyes couldn't keep up." Manager Nishiguchi has stated that he will be accompanying the first team to spring training, and he is preparing with determination, saying, "First of all, I want to communicate well and talk with pitcher, and I want to improve all my techniques."