NPB Player Movement Database

Daiki Tajima has spent nearly a decade as the answer to a specific question: who takes the ball when Orix needs six competent innings from the left side? A first-round pick in 2017 after the classic finishing school of Japanese corporate baseball — JR East — he became a rotation regular in Osaka through command, a compact delivery, and a total indifference to drama.

He turned 30 during a 2026 regular season that was neither quiet nor steady. Tajima finished 2-5 with a 5.89 ERA over 62 2/3 innings in 18 appearances, allowing 12 home runs while striking out 44 and walking 16. He also recorded one hold. A scoreless six-inning first win in late May showed the familiar version of the left-hander; sustaining it was the problem. His final ERA improved on the early-September figure, but the limited workload and home runs allowed still made this a difficult season. For a pitcher whose value has so often rested on dependable innings, rebuilding that dependability is the most useful way to read what comes next.