Nippon-Ham starting lineup has grown in strength with the addition of Yuya Arihara
Baseball King
2026.1.8(木) 08:00
Nippon-Ham announced an agreement with Kohei Arihara, who became a free agent from Softbank Hawks on December 28th of last year. This will be Arihara’s first return to Nippon-Ham in six years.
Arihara won the most wins title twice during his three years with Softbank Hawks, and was instrumental in the team’s two consecutive league championships since 2012. The acquisition of the right-handed pitcher who has been the most wins for two consecutive years will further strengthen Nippon-Ham starting lineup.
Nippon-Ham has a strong lineup, including ace pitcher Hiromi Ito, who won the most wins title with 14, the same as Arihara, and received his first Sawamura Award, as well as Wataru Kitayama, who posted the second-best ERA in the league at 1.63, young players Koki Kitayama Kota Tatsu, Ren Fukushima, Leo Shibata, Haruki Hosono, and veterans Takayuki Kato and Sachiya Yamazaki, both southpaws.
At Nippon-Ham’ fan appreciation event “F FES2025” held at ES CON FIELD on November 22nd, manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo announced that Hiromi Ito will be the opening pitcher for next season, Kitayama will start in the second game, and Tatsuya will start in the third game.
For Nippon-Ham, which has finished second for two consecutive years and is gradually improving its team strength with the help of young players, the addition of Arihara, who contributed to Softbank Hawks ‘s consecutive league championships, is a big deal. It will be interesting to see if they can achieve their first league championship since 2016.
AloJapan.com