Seibu Lions Shunsuke Sato pitcher (26) entered on the 6th. He candidly shared his thoughts about this season, in which he hopes to recover from his breakdown. bullpen

The left-handed pitcher, who joined the team as the second reliever in the 2021 draft, appeared in over 40 games as a relief pitcher in 2023 and 2024. However, in his fourth professional season last year, he was plagued by symptoms from the middle of the season, such as "pain in the fingers of his left hand, which made it difficult to put strength into his pitches," and "while trying to compensate for the pain, it caused some issues with his release," limiting him to just 20 appearances. He spent the latter half of the season in the minor leagues, a frustrating year for him.

"The joints in my fingers are loose and prone to pain," so I underwent treatment to stiffen them just before the camp last fall, and during that camp I joined the rehabilitation group in Tokorozawa, Saitama. During the off-season in December, I had the trainer create a staged program for me, including playing catch, throwing while standing, and pitching, and I was carefully making adjustments while checking each one for any reaction," he said.

On this day, he entered bullpen after warming up. He is now in the second phase of spring training in Haruno, Kochi, and is confident, saying, "Everything is going well. I'm doing what I need to do normally. I'll keep checking, but if there are no symptoms, I think everything will go smoothly." With Taira returning to the starting pitcher position, the closer position this season is vacant. However, he remains grounded, saying, "I think if I can pitch well, the results will follow. I'm taking it one step at a time rather than my long-term goal," and is steadily moving forward.