Rakuten Eagles pitcher Taisei Tsurusaki underwent contract negotiations in Sendai City on the 8th and signed for an annual salary of 16 million yen, an increase of 1 million yen.

In his seventh professional season this year, he appeared in 24 games as a reliever. Looking ahead to next season when he turns 30, he made a unique request to Manager Yoshii, who took over mid-season, saying, 'I want to be worked to the bone by Manager Yoshii.'

While he holds respect for Manager Yoshii, a former pitcher himself, noting that 'his management of pitchers is extremely precise,' he expressed a desire to make the manager think, 'I'll go with Tsurusaki here too' or 'I need Tsurusaki to step up again today.' He volunteered to work at full capacity regardless of the role, including multi-inning appearances, pitching on consecutive days, or long relief. He set a goal of pitching 60 innings, more than double his total from this season (26 and 2/3 innings).

He revealed his off-season adjustment policy, saying, 'I'll be turning 30 next year, so I want to thoroughly focus on my physical condition and mobility.' At the same time, he expressed his intention to challenge himself with mental strengthening, stating, 'I'm thinking about actively incorporating mental training starting this year. Until now, I didn't really like blaming results on my mental state, but I heard that the mind can improve with practice and that mental strength is also a type of skill.'