Rakuten tells catcher Hikari Ito it will not renew his contract

Rakuten has told catcher Hikari Ito it will not renew his contract for the 2027 season.

The 37-year-old moved to the Japanese baseball club from DeNA last December after using his overseas free-agent rights.

He played 22 games for Rakuten this season, batting .133 with one home run and two runs batted in.

His last appearance in a first-team game was on June 5, against Hanshin.

Ito began his professional career with Orix in 2007 and later played for Yokohama, earning Best Nine and Gold Glove honors in 2014.

He has played 1,085 games in his career, with a .234 batting average, 31 home runs and 264 runs batted in.

Rakuten’s decision ends his time at the club after one season, and no next step for Ito is stated.