On the 30th, Seibu Lions developmental pitcher Hiroto Hiraguchi (23) underwent contract negotiations at the club office in Tokorozawa City, Saitama, and signed to maintain his current annual salary of 4 million yen.

Left-hander Hiraguchi joined the Seibu Lions as the fifth pick in the 2025 developmental draft after attending Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School and Japan University of Economics. During this season, his first year with the Seibu Lions, he did not even make an appearance on the farm team.

During the summer, he suffered a fracture in his right wrist. 'It's embarrassing, but I was hit directly by a pickoff throw during a pitcher-infielder coordination drill,' he explained. He had no appearances even on the farm team, and looking back on the year, he said, 'I told them that I felt frustrated because I had so many injuries and couldn't pitch in games at all.'

The left-hander expressed his enthusiasm for next season, saying, 'I think I was able to show my own style of pitching.' With Kudo, a senior alumnus from Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School, having taken over as the manager of Chunichi, he remarked, 'As a left-handed pitcher, there is definitely something I can learn from him, so I want to study his approach.'