Seibu Lions closer Kiyoshi Toyoda will be taken off the active roster due to a lower back injury, officials of the Pacific League club said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old right-hander, who owns the PL single-season record of 38 saves, posted his third win of the season last week, but complained of pain in his back and said the condition is serious enough that he will not be able to pitch for a while.
"It seems as if he won't be able to pitch for some time, so I'm going to deactivate him. He has had a backache before but this one seems to be worse," Seibu manager Tsutomu Ito said.