It was revealed on the 17th that Seibu Lions infielder Tyler Nevin (28) has joined the farm team. It is unlikely that he will be able to rejoin the first team before the season opener on the 27th, and the foreign player roster, which is limited to four players, will likely consist of right-handed pitchers Wingenter and Ramirez, along with new foreign players Canario and Lin Anka, for the start of the season.

Nevin did not appear at pre-game practice that day. He was also left out of the bench roster, and after the game, manager Nishiguchi revealed, "He will be going into farm team training. We'll leave it up to Nevin. Rather than pushing himself to be ready for the opening of the season, he should go at his own pace. I want him to make sure he doesn't get injured afterwards. It seems like he feels the same way."

He was the only foreign player the manager had explicitly stated would be a regular this season. In his second year in Japan, he joined the spring training camp in February midway through due to family reasons. During the camp, he complained of back stiffness, which delayed his training, but he joined the first team on March 10th. However, on the 13th, he missed another game due to discomfort in his left side, and his poor physical condition continued.