Seibu Lions Lions manager Fumiya Nishiguchi expressed his expectations for outfielder Rakuto Wakabayashi, who is returning to the Lions for the first time since 2012 in a trade from the Seibu Lions The Giants, on the 29th, saying, "He has potential. I hope he will inspire the other outfield."

Seibu Lions finished the first half of the season in second place, 5.5 games behind the league leaders, Softbank Hawks. Currently, outfielder is center fielder, with new foreign player Canario, An-Ko Lin, Kishi, and Hiruma competing for the left and right field positions, but concerns about their defense and batting performance have prevented a complete lineup from being finalized.