Orix Buffaloes catcher Sho Fukunaga was removed from the active roster on the 24th. A Yokohama High School alumnus, he is the last professional baseball player among the former students of Motonori Watanabe, the former manager of the school's baseball team who passed away at the age of 81 on the 17th. In this, his fifth season, he was limited to a .125 batting average in 28 games.

Last year, he appeared in a career-high 39 games. Along with Wakatsuki and others, he is indispensable to the catcher staff in the absence of Moritomo, so he is expected to improve his form in both offense and defense.