Professional baseball Lotte has announced that 34-year-old pitcher Takahiro Matsunaga and 35-year-old pitcher Yasuhiro Tanaka, who were mainly active as middle pitchers, will retire.
In his 10th year as a professional, 34-year-old pitcher Matsunaga joined the team in 1st place in the draft from Osaka Gas in 2013, and has pitched in 359 games with the first army, mainly as a middleman.
Last season, due to the effects of injuries, he did not pitch in the 1st army, and was notified that he was out of force and became a training player. I had a contract.
However, he has not pitched in either the 1st or 2nd army this season, and he will retire.
Matsunaga said, “I couldn’t pitch for the last two years, but now I feel refreshed. I came here with the team, but there's nothing I can do about it.Thanks to everyone's support, I was able to pitch in many games, and I was able to work hard in my rehabilitation.Thank you very much," he commented through the team.
On the other hand, 35-year-old pitcher Tanaka, who has been in his 17th year as a professional, joined Seibu in 2006, and after being notified that he was out of force, started playing for Lotte in 2016, pitching in 209 games with the first army.
He has pitched in 15 games this season, going 0-1 with an 8.36 ERA.
Pitcher Tanaka commented, “In the last year or two, I have been unable to contribute to the team, but I have nothing but gratitude for all the fans who have supported me. Thanks to all of you, I was able to lead a happy baseball life. Thank you very much for your help."
Lotte also announced on the 6th that it will not sign a contract with 31-year-old Yuta Yoshida, a catcher in his 9th year as a professional, next season.