The NPB selection members for the "2026 Asia Winter baseball League" (AWB), to be held in Taiwan from Saturday, November 14th to Sunday, December 6th, have been announced. Three players from Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, three from Saitama Seibu Lions, five from Orix Buffaloes, and six from Fukuoka Softbank will be dispatched.

【pitcher】※Titles omitted
・Keishin Suzuki (The Giants)
・Takahiro Chiba (The Giants)
・Ayumu Nishikawa (The Giants)
・Huang Chin-Hao (The Giants)
・Yusaku Kono (The Giants)
・Kota Nishidate (Tokyo Yakult)
・Yuto Nakamura (Tokyo Yakult)
・Masahiro Kawashimo (Seibu Lions)
・Ryuga Sato (Orix Buffaloes)
・Issei Watanabe (Orix Buffaloes)
・Taiga Uehara (Orix Buffaloes)
・Yuta Aihara (Softbank Hawks)
・Sanshiro Izaki (Softbank Hawks)
・Ryotaro Sawayanagi (Softbank Hawks)
※pitcher Sawayanagi will be dispatched from Nov 11th to 24th, and Pitcher Izaki from Nov 24th to Dec 7th.

▼Saitama Seibu Lions・Masahiro Kawashimo pitcher Comment▼
「I volunteered to participate this time because of a strong desire to feel baseball at various levels overseas, not just in Japan, and to see how far my own abilities can go. I want to build my pitch around my weapon, the fastball, and consistently get swing-and-misses with it. Also, since this is a precious opportunity to spend time with coaches and players from other teams, I want to actively ask about their training methods and technical sensations to absorb as much as possible. I am aiming to break into the first team during next spring's camp, but first, I will do my best to leave solid results in this winter league.」

【catcher】
・Rentaro Matsui (The Giants)
・Yutaro Fujita (Softbank Hawks)
・So Otomo (Softbank Hawks)

【infielder】
・Gen Murayama (The Giants)
・Raiku Takeshita (The Giants)
・Haruto Tanaka (Tokyo Yakult)
・Toshiaki Kawasaki (Hanshin Tigers)
・Takumi Aono (Rakuten Eagles)
・Yuya Kishimoto (Rakuten Eagles)
・Koji Kaneko (Seibu Lions)
・Sodai Nakanishi (Orix Buffaloes)
・Shinjiro Uno (Softbank Hawks)

▼Tohoku Rakuten Eagles・Takumi Aono Comment▼
「This year was a season where things didn't go as planned due to injuries. I want to bring back some kind of spark or sensation from this winter league to Japan and work hard so that I can be active next season.」

▼Tohoku Rakuten Eagles・Yuya Kishimoto Comment▼
「Many things I lack came to light this season, so I want to make this tournament a good opportunity to face those challenges head-on and level up. Also, I will work hard to absorb good things from players of other teams and utilize them in the future.」

▼Koji Kaneko Comment▼
「I have been interested in the winter league since my first year, and because I wanted to gain various experiences in my baseball life, I volunteered to participate. As it is my first overseas experience, there are parts where I'll be feeling my way through, but I want to approach each day with care. In this winter league, my primary theme is leveling up my hitting. Also, I want to actively communicate with players from other teams and liven up the team with a loud and energetic presence. Through this experience, I hope to grow and return so that I can play with more confidence next season.」

【outfielder】
・Hosei Itsubo (Hanshin Tigers)
・Shoei Yamazaki (Hanshin Tigers)
・Shion Otsubo (Rakuten Eagles)
・Asahi Taniguchi (Seibu Lions)
・Yosuke Kubota (Orix Buffaloes)

▼Tohoku Rakuten Eagles・Shion Otsubo Comment▼
「In the Taiwan winter league, I want to face my challenges and level up through games against pitchers in a different environment than usual. While refining my characteristic long-hitting power, I want to grow in hitting, defense, and base running, and play with a focus on results. I will work hard so that this experience leads to a registered roster spot and success in the first team. Thank you for your support.」

▼Saitama Seibu Lions・Asahi Taniguchi Comment▼
「Over the past two years, my opportunities to stand in the batter's box in actual games or play defense were limited due to injuries. I volunteered for the winter league because I wanted to gain more experience and develop my game sense. My biggest goal is to refine my batting and become able to hit for extra bases. Also, in the outfield defense I've been working on since this year, I want to polish my throw using my wide defensive range and arm, and ensure I can properly defend all three outfield positions.」