Japanese Job》Birthday becomes the cruelest day! Lotte Golden Eagle posted a message to celebrate his birthday in the morning. The 26-year-old right-hander was eliminated in the afternoon.

Shota Watanabe. (Taken from Rakuten Golden Eagle official social media X)

[Sports Center/Comprehensive Report] The Rakuten Golden Eagles announced on the 29th of this month that six players were out of the lineup, including 26-year-old right-hand shot Shota Watanabe, who happened to be celebrating his 26th birthday that day. The team's social media

Shota Watanabe was the third pick in the 2022 draft to join Rakuten. In the 2023 rookie season, he played 51 games, a career high in a single season. That year, he posted 8 wins and 3 losses, 25 relay successes, and an excellent ERA of 2.40.

However, Shota Watanabe has been troubled by injuries in recent years. He underwent surgery on his right elbow in 2025. He has only played 6 games with the first team this season, allowing 7 points in 6 innings and an ERA of 10.50. Shota Watanabe played 22 games in the second division this year, with 1 win, an ERA of 4.64, and a total of 21.1 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts. In addition, this year, Shota Watanabe has the fastest throw to 150 kilometers in the first division.

Japanese media "Full-Count" reported that the Rakuten Golden Eagles posted a message at about 8:30 a.m. on the 29th, "Happy Birthday! Shota Watanabe (26 years old)" and attached a picture to congratulate him on his birthday.

Then about six hours later, the Rakuten Golden Eagles announced at about 2:30 in the afternoon that six players, including Shota Watanabe, had been eliminated from the competition. Such a huge contrast also caused fans to comment, "It turned out that they were announced to be out of the competition a few hours later."

According to the "Sports News" report, although Rakuten proposed the contract of developing players and wanted to retain them, Watanabe Shota said, "Although I am very grateful to the team, I want to think about it again. Including other teams, I want to evaluate various possibilities."