On the 26th, the Softbank Hawks announced that they would not be signing an under-control contract for next season with infielder Yuto Akihiro. Along with Oe, who has already been notified that he is outside of the team's future plans, he joined from The Giants in May of last year through a two-for-one exchange trade for Richard. In this, his second year with the team, he finished the season without any first-team appearances, a first since 2022 during his time with The Giants.

Akihiro visited the team office on this day and commented, "It has been about a year and a half since I came to The Hawks, but I haven't been able to contribute at all. I was prepared for this. It is frustrating." This season, he made an impression by hitting three Home Runs during the exhibition games in March, but he started the season with the farm team. Although he hit 10 Home Runs in 97 appearances in the farm league, he was unable to produce results, finishing with a batting average of .205. While he stuck to his dynamic swing style, he looked back and said, "It was the year I hit the worst since turning professional. I kept wondering why, and I couldn't perform the way I wanted until the very end."

He wishes to continue his playing career, and it appears the club has offered him a new contract as a developmental player. Akihiro stated, "I believe there are various options, so I want to make a choice I won't regret." He has no intention of ending things like this.