Chunichi Dragons pitcher Masahiro Yamamoto, who turned 50 in August, said Saturday he will retire at the end this season.

"The current reality is that the Dragons are moving forward to rejuvenate the team before my eyes and I strongly felt that it would be no good hanging around and have decided to retire," Yamamoto said in a post dated Friday on his official website.

Yamamoto told reporters at Nagoya Dome on Saturday he would hold a news conference at a later date.