On the 2nd, Lotte manager Saburo (49) praised the two new foreign left-handed pitcher, Jose Castillo (30) (formerly of the Orioles) and Sam pitcher (30) (formerly of the Royals), who made bullpen debut at the Miyakonojo camp in Miyazaki.

Heading to bullpen, he checked out Castillo, who has a career record against Dodgers' Ohtani of 1 hit in 3 At Bat-bats. After watching 24 pitches from the 198cm, 114kg giant, he nodded and said, "I think he's incredibly difficult to hit. His arms are hidden, so hitter can't see him. I can see why Ohtani had such a hard time. I watched all three at-bats against him, and he hit ground balls every time. His two-two seam fastball has a lot of movement, and his control is pretty good. He's very cohesive."

The manager also gave a high evaluation to Long, who threw 31 pitches, saying, "He should be able to throw more speed. His pitcher was good as expected. His fastball is strong, and he swings at the high pitches." He added, "I think it's been a while since we've had a good foreign pitcher. If those two are part of our winning formula, our pitching ability will improve considerably," and revealed that he will also be assessing Long's suitability as a starter. The two foreign players are likely to be indispensable assets for the team as they aim to make a V-shaped recovery from last season's last-place finish. (Ami Shunsuke)