Nao Higashihama pitcher, who exercised his domestic FA rights and remained with Softbank Hawks, held contract renewal negotiations at Mizuho PayPal on March 23, and signed for 110 million yen, a 40 million yen decrease from his 150 million yen annual salary (all amounts are estimates). He considered transferring to another team in search of an opportunity to play, but his B rank, which requires human compensation, became a bottleneck, and he The Hawks settled on remaining with the team.

The 35-year-old right-hander, who has a total of 76 wins, looked refreshed as he said, "I'm not feeling any new energy, but I've been practicing hard for this season since before the new year, and I'm really excited right now." He was fired up to compete for a spot in the starting rotation, saying, "How can I make the most of the 180 inning that Arihara will be missing?"