Rehabilitation itself is going well, and since I haven't been able to do anything this year, I have a strong desire to make up for it next year. I am in a position where I absolutely must pitch, so I am working hard with a firm resolve, whether I am at Marine Stadium or in Urawa.

Lotte's Yuto Kimura is working hard on his rehabilitation toward his return.

Last season, his second year out of high school, Kimura pitched in 22 games and 68 innings, recording 3 wins, 2 losses, 5 holds, and 1 save with a 3.31 ERA, gaining practical experience in both starting and relief roles. Looking toward a breakout third year, he set a goal of double-digit wins and strongly declared that to achieve this, 'First and foremost, the minimum requirement is to firmly stay in the rotation for the full year, and I believe the most important thing is to pitch without missing a turn.'

He made the opening starting rotation and started three games, but was removed from the first-team roster the day after his start against Nippon-Ham on April 16. In the farm league, he started against the Orix Buffaloes second team on May 2 and pitched three innings, but that was his last appearance. On June 24, he underwent 'repair surgery using an internal brace for a right elbow medial collateral ligament injury' at a hospital in Saga Prefecture.

Regarding the reason for deciding to undergo surgery during the season, he explained, "My elbow wasn't in good condition during a game, and I felt I had reached my limit for throwing, so I made the decision after a short period of time."

On July 4th, when the author visited Lotte Urawa for an interview, there was a sight of him running on the sub-ground with his right elbow fixed with a device. He resumed catch in September, saying, 'I've been doing it gradually since about a month ago.' He is also performing catch during the autumn practice being held at Zozo Marine Stadium since October 11th.

Regarding the sensation of throwing, he expressed a positive feeling, saying, 'There is a bit of discomfort at the start of throwing, but compared to the beginning, I can swing my arm without worrying about it, so I'm surprised because I didn't think I'd be able to throw this much. I think the recovery progress is quite fast for me.'

Regarding the rehabilitation itself, he said, 'It's actually a bit ahead of schedule; there haven't been any delays, and we're managing to do it quite early,' indicating that everything is going very smoothly.

I wonder what kind of image they have in mind while doing rehabilitation for their return.

If I only return to my condition from last year, I won't have improved; I would have just gone back to how I was. I am doing my rehabilitation so that I can go one or two levels higher than that. In terms of physical conditioning, I have more time than anyone else, so I am able to work on it thoroughly. Since I have plenty of time for both physical training and fixing my form, I don't feel the need to rush. I believe it will be fine as long as I can pitch properly next year. I want to make effective use of this time.

Furthermore, Kimura shared his vision for his return, stating, "Since nothing starts until I can throw, I want to carefully go through each step of my rehabilitation to level up. If I do that, the quality of my pitches will change. My average velocity is one thing, but my maximum is around 153 or 154 km/h, so if I can reach a point where I'm consistently exceeding that, I believe I'll be at a stage where I can compete effectively as a starter. I want to work toward that goal first."

Although this season ended in a frustrating departure due to injury, I will return before The Marines fans next season in a powered-up form to make up for this disappointment.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita