Nippon Professional Baseball
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- Luke VoitIFOut
Torn right elbow UCL and common tendon; internal brace surgery Aug 1 · Expected return: Out for season
- Yuki HayashiPInjured list
Left elbow surgery and plate fixation of ulna fracture; rehabbing
Left-hander Wataru Karashima announced Sep 23 he will retire after the season (18 years with Rakuten). Kenta Maeda deactivated Sep 25. Manager Miki took leave in June → Masato Yoshii now manager. 6th in Pacific League (eliminated).
Saitama Seibu Lions
- Kaima TairaSPOut
Deactivated Sep 21 under infectious-disease exemption with fever; not back as of Sep 27 (ace, 11-5, 1.36 ERA). Influenza spreading in the team
- Yutaro WatanabePInjured list
Right elbow pain; deactivated Sep 12
- Masayuki KuwaharaOFInjured list
Right calf muscle injury (Sep 5); deactivated Sep 9
- Manaya NishikawaOFInjured list
Left knee MCL injury; deactivated Sep 21
- Kona TakahashiSPQuestionable
Threw 5 scoreless innings in Sep 25 return but left with a burst blister on right hand (being monitored)
- Takeya NakamuraIFOut
Influenza
Sep 27: rookie Yamato Fuji made his first pro start (2⅔ IP, 2 R) before Canario's go-ahead 2-run hit sealed a 3-2 win. Sep 24: Lin An-ko (Taiwan) and 3 others deactivated. Franchise star Takumi Kuriyama retired (farewell game Aug 30). A win or tie plus a Nippon-Ham loss clinches 2nd place → hosting CS First Stage.