On the 17th, Rakuten Eagles announced that former Lotte manager Masato Yoshii (61) would be taking over as their new manager, and owner Hiroshi Mikitani (61) also attended a press conference in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. It is extremely unusual for the group's top executive, Mikitani, to attend a team press conference during the season.

　三木谷オーナーは「今年の成績を追い求めるだけでなく、中長期的に改革をしないといけない、強い球団をつくらないといけないと考え、就任をお願いしました」と語った。シーズン中の新監督招へいについては、自ら「異例」と口にした。

During his playing career, Yoshii experienced three league championships and two Japan Series titles as pitcher with Kintetsu and Yakult. He played for three MLB teams and recorded a total of 121 wins in Japan and the US. As a coach, he has nurtured top-class pitcher such as Yu Darvish (Padres) and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers). He also served as a pitcher coach for the Samurai Japan national team.

In 2022, he coached Roki Sasaki (Dodgers) as a pitching coordinator. From 2023, he served as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines for three years, and in his first year as manager, he led the team from fifth place the previous year to second place.

Rakuten Eagles was in contention for first place until mid-April this season, but then their performance plummeted. After 63 games, they were struggling with a record of 23 wins, 39 losses, and 1 tie, a deficit of 16 games. Coaching staff changes were implemented from May onwards, but no dramatic improvement was seen. At 1:00 AM on the 10th (Rakuten Eagles Mobile), after the game against The Giants, when their deficit reached 15 games, manager Miki was suddenly announced to be taking a leave of absence. Since the announcement, head coach Shiokawa has been serving as acting manager. Aiming for further progress, Yoshii has been brought in as the new manager midway through the season. This marks the birth of a new manager brought in from outside the organization at an unusual time.

Before the season began, key players such as Muneyama and Nishiguchi were sidelined. The extreme slump in hitting by foreign player Voit also had a major impact on the team's slump. Faced with a series of miscalculations in their pitching staff, they have a mountain of problems to address in both pitching and hitting. Their runs scored (188) and ERA (3.61) are both the worst in the league. Leveraging Mr. Yoshii's extensive knowledge and precise coaching ability to bring out the best in each individual player, they aim to improve their performance, primarily by rebuilding pitcher staff.

◆Hiroshi Mikitani: Born March 11, 1965, in Kobe City. Age 61. Graduated from Akashi High School and Hitotsubashi University. In 1988, he joined the Industrial Bank of Japan (now Mizuho Bank). In 1996, he established the Crimson Group. The following year, 1997, he established MDM (now Rakuten Eagles). In 2004, he became the owner of J1 Vissel Kobe. In the fall of the same year, he established Rakuten Eagles baseball Club, making a new entry into professional baseball. In 2006, he became the Representative Director and Chairman of Vissel Kobe. In January 2008, he stepped down as owner of Rakuten Eagles and became Representative Director and Chairman. In August 2012, he was appointed Chairman and Owner again.

◆Masato Yoshii: Born April 20, 1965, in Wakayama Prefecture. Age 61. Joined Kintetsu in 1983 as the second overall pick in the draft after graduating from Minoshima High School. Transferred to Yakult in 1995, and joined the Mets as a free agent in the offseason of 1997. After playing for three MLB teams, Orix Buffaloes in 2003. Transferred to Lotte midway through the 2007 season and retired that same year. Served as a coach for Nippon-Ham from 2008 to 2012, Softbank Hawks in 2015, Nippon-Ham from 2016 to 2018, and Lotte from 2019 to 2022. Managed Lotte from 2023 to 2025. His career record in Japan and the US is 547 appearances, with 121 wins, 129 losses, and 62 saves. Right-handed pitcher and batter.