The Lotte Marines, led by new manager Saburo, kicked off their Miyakonojo training camp in Miyazaki on the 1st. On the first ground of training, infielder Neftalí Soto who became the team's first foreign captain in 28 years, sent a message to the players.

"Are we just a group of people who are good at baseball, or are we a group of people who are good at baseball who come together and become one team that can win? Let's all become that kind of group. Let's go. Let's all work together and do our best."

This is the first time a foreign player has been appointed captain since Julio Franco in 1998. Manager Saburo explained that this is an extremely rare appointment, even among the 12 teams, saying, "I've been watching him closely since last year, and I've seen him take the mid-level and young players out to dinner, teach them batting, and do a lot of other things, so I thought, 'He could be captain.'" He also revealed, "At the age of 37 (on February 28th), I wanted him to hold on, so I wanted him to take on the role for himself rather than for the team as a whole."