On the 1st, the Orix Buffaloes officially announced that former Rakuten Eagles manager Hajime Miki will be appointed as head coach and Tatsuya Shimozono will be appointed as first-team batting coach.

Miki joined Yakult as the first-round draft pick in 1995 and retired from active play in 2008 after a stint with Nippon-Ham. After that, he served as an infield defense and base running coach for Nippon-Ham, and from 2014, he primarily served as the head coach for Yakult. In 2019, he served as the minor league manager for the Rakuten Eagles, and for one year in 2020, he was the major league manager. From 2025 until the middle of this season, he had been leading the team again as the major league manager.

Shimozono joined Yokohama as the 4th pick in the 2006 university and adult draft. During his active career, he appeared in a total of 656 games, recording a .263 batting average, 16 Home Runs, and 110 RBI. He retired from active play in 2017 and became the DeNA second-team batting coach in 2020. From 2025 until this season, he had been coaching for the Rakuten Eagles.

The team finished in fourth place this season, 11 games below .500, falling into the bottom half of the standings for the first time in two years. Both coaches joined the fall training camp starting today in Kochi. In the upcoming season, which marks Manager Kishida's third year in charge, the team aims to reclaim the championship for the first time in four years under this new structure.

Hajime Miki. Born April 25, 1977, in Osaka Prefecture. 49 years old. Joined Yakult as the first-round draft pick in 1995 from Uenomiya. Transferred to Nippon-Ham via trade in 2008 and retired from active play at the end of that same year. After serving as head coach and in other roles for Yakult, he became the Rakuten Eagles farm team manager in 2019. He served as the first-team manager in 2020. In 2021, he was reassigned to farm team manager, and will serve as the first-team manager again starting in 2025. It was announced in June of this year that he would take a leave of absence, and he subsequently left the team. His career stats over 359 games include a .195 batting average, 2 Home Runs, and 14 RBI. 180 cm, 75 kg. Right-handed thrower and switch-hitter.

Tatsuya Shimozono. Born November 22, 1984, in Miyazaki Prefecture. 41 years old. After attending Miyazaki Nichidai High School and Kyushu International University, he joined Yokohama (DeNA) as a 4th round pick in the 2006 University/Adult draft. He retired from active play at the end of 2017 and became a DeNA second-team batting coach in 2020. He left the team in 2024 and became a Rakuten Eagles second-team batting coach starting in 2025. He took charge of the first team midway through that same year. His career stats over 656 games include a .263 batting average, 16 Home Runs, and 110 RBI. He is 179 cm tall and weighs 81 kg. He is a left-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter.