Yuto Yamamoto, the 27-year-old catcher who joined the Softbank Hawks via a trade, held his official welcome press conference on the 13th at Mizuho PayPay Dome. He will immediately join the first team for their home game against the Seibu Lions and is expected to be registered for play.
■ A stunning addition: DeNA’s starting catcher joins Softbank’s catching corps
After the trade was announced late on the 12th between Softbank and DeNA—sending pitcher Takato Ogata (26) and infielder Tomoya Inoue (23) the other way—Yamamoto moved to Fukuoka that very night. He quickly started reviewing all Pacific League games. However, he admitted he did not watch the game in which his former DeNA battery partner, Katsuki Azuma, earned his fourth win of the season against the Chunichi Dragons at Yokohama Stadium.
“I think I’m pretty quick at switching gears. I hate to say it, but Azuma isn’t with Softbank anymore, so there’s no need to follow him. Instead, I thought it was more important to watch the three Pacific League games and get used to the new environment as soon as possible, so I focused on those,” Yamamoto explained, showing he has already mentally and physically shifted into “Pacific League mode.”
Meanwhile, Taiga Kamigatani, a former DeNA teammate, sent Yamamoto a long message detailing the differences in travel between the Central and Pacific Leagues. Kamigatani had described Yamamoto as “a good guy—funnier than me,” but Yamamoto responded with a laugh, “Since it’s Kamigatani saying that, I wouldn’t take it too seriously… I think you all probably know what kind of person he is. I’m not a very interesting guy, but I’ll do my best and give it everything I’ve got.”
Yamamoto attended Kyoto Shoei High School, then played for the Route Inn BC League’s Shiga team before being drafted in the ninth round by DeNA in 2018. As their starting catcher, he won both the Golden Glove and Best Nine awards in 2024. Over his career with DeNA, he appeared in 396 games, batting .256 with 14 home runs and 111 RBIs. He is now expected to compete for the starting catcher role with Softbank.
“I’ve only ever played baseball for the BayStars, so I don’t know how well my game will hold up. Playing for a strong team like Softbank, there will be a lot expected of me as a catcher. I want to contribute to even just one more win,” Yamamoto said, taking his first steps into his new chapter.
▼ Softbank GM Mitsugi Sugihara revealed the background behind the shocking trade for DeNA’s starting catcher Yuto Yamamoto: “We’d been thinking about it since around last year…” (Nishinippon Shimbun)
