Earlier this week marked the beginning of Major League Baseball’s free agency market, permitting clubs to seek out any additions required to bolster their active rosters. This search extends to talent arriving from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization, alongside Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. Throughout history, these premier circuits have consistently supplied Major League Baseball with influential contributors.
One needs to look no further than the Los Angeles Dodgers to understand the immense value of global talent for an organization. During the recent campaign, Los Angeles featured four alumni of NPB and KBO on their roster, highlighted by dual-threat star Shohei Ohtani, rotation leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto, plus starting pitcher Roki Sasaki. While Ohtani joined via standard MLB free agency, the remaining talents arrived in Los Angeles through the official posting process.
Under the terms established in the posting pact with MLB, athletes posted from NPB or CPBL are granted a 45-day negotiating period to finalize a contract with a big-league franchise. Meanwhile, KBO athletes are allocated a 30-day framework. Should an athlete fail to reach a deal within their designated posting timeframe, they head back to their parent organization in the NPB, CPBL, or KBO. The acquiring MLB franchise must subsequently disburse a transfer fee to the player’s prior international club.
Below is the schedule outlining posting fee obligations:
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Up to $25M |
20% of total deal value |
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$25M through $50M |
$5M plus 17.5% of deal value exceeding $25M |
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$50M or greater |
$9.375M plus 15% of deal value exceeding $50M |
As an illustration, the Chicago White Sox remitted a $6.575 million posting charge to the Yakult Swallows—the former club of Munetaka Murakami—upon agreeing to his $34 million pact last winter. That total breaks down to $5 million applied to the initial $25 million, combined with 17.5% on the leftover $9 million (totaling $1.575 million). Adding $5 million to $1.575 million yields the exact $6.575 million sum distributed to the Swallows.
In contrast to the prior labor stoppage, MLB does not plan to freeze negotiating windows amidst the anticipated lockout, per reports from The Athletic. Consequently, should ownership initiate a lockout on December 1 as anticipated, that specific calendar day will effectively become the firm cutoff point for NPB players currently posted, barring a resolution to the work stoppage prior to the expiration of their 45-day negotiating period.
This winter’s international market lacks generational, elite-tier talents along the lines of Ohtani or Yamamoto. Nevertheless, multiple intriguing candidates possess the capability to upgrade a major-league club for the 2027 campaign. The following list highlights the top six NPB, CPBL, and KBO talents to monitor during this offseason.
1. 3B Teruaki Sato
The recipient of Japan’s Triple Crown produced a .306/.383/.609 slash line alongside 39 homers during the 2026 campaign. While his profile draws comparisons to Murakami, he is not a carbon copy. Sato exhibits slightly less raw power (though still possesses ample pop) and generates fewer bases on balls, yet he accumulates a high number of whiffs and likely won’t stick at third base permanently. An exceptionally aggressive presence in the box, Sato recorded a 66% contact frequency this past year, trailing the major league average of 77%. Industry observers widely expect him to transition to first base or a corner outfield position, if not immediately, then in the near future. Murakami managed to conquer his swing-and-miss tendencies by blasting 35 home runs across just 127 contests in 2026 despite battling a hamstring ailment. If nothing else, that outcome will cause front offices to rethink their projections for players transitioning from Japan. Much like Murakami, Sato represents a calculated risk, but his raw power justifies taking the gamble. Sato was formally made available via posting by the Hanshin Tigers on November 1.
2. RHP Kaima Taira
- Top 50 free agent ranking: 19
- Possible landing spots: Dodgers, Giants, Padres
Standing at 5-foot-8, Taira achieves exceptional mound extension—nearing seven feet regardless of his stature—which yields an unusually low release point. Batters seldom encounter pitches originating from Taira’s specific release slot. Furthermore, his arsenal is far from a novelty. Taira routinely operates in the mid-90s with his four-seamer, complementing it with a cutter, sinker, sweeper, slider, changeup, and splitter. Both his sweeper and slider function as separate offerings, as do his changeup and splitter. After utilizing Taira out of the bullpen throughout 2024 and 2025, the Seibu Lions shifted him to a starting role in 2026, a role he managed effectively. His breaking offerings are adequate, but realistically, hurlers of his stature infrequently maintain a starter’s durability over time. Expect whichever franchise secures Taira to offer him an initial opportunity in the rotation. Over time, however, his ultimate destination could be the bullpen, potentially filling a multi-inning late-game role. Taira was formally posted on November 1.
3. RHP Hiroki Itoh
- Top 50 free agent ranking: No. 26
- Possible landing spots: Angels, Giants, Padres
A somewhat regressive 2026 campaign diminished a portion of the luster surrounding Itoh, who claimed the 2025 Eiji Sawamura Award (NPB’s version of the Cy Young) following a 196 ⅔-inning stretch featuring a 2.52 ERA. While Itoh remained productive in 2026—posting a 3.18 ERA across 172 ⅔ innings—he failed to replicate his prior absolute dominance. The 5-foot-9 righty relies on a wide array of seven distinct offerings anchored by a low-90s heater alongside various secondary options (sinker, cutter, curve, slider, sweeper, splitter), though no individual pitch rates as a true plus tool. Itoh has covered minimums of 150 innings during each of the preceding six years. Scouts project him as a tactical back-of-the-rotation starter in the majors, or potentially a bullpen weapon (where he registered 96 mph during World Baseball Classic relief outings). The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters officially put Itoh up for posting on November 1.
4. 3B Si-Hwan Roh
Roh operates under a unique arrangement with the Hanwha Eagles. After agreeing to the largest contract in KBO history this past February (an 11-year deal valued around $23 million), the pact stipulated that the Eagles would post him for MLB clubs this winter, while Roh committed to ending his career with Hanwha once his time in North America concludes. Turning 26 in November, Roh registered a .283/.360/.505 slash line along with 29 home runs over the recent season. He displays legitimate right-handed power backed by sound plate discipline. Doubts remain regarding his whiff frequency and his defensive arm strength at third base. The Eagles officially initiated Roh’s posting on November 1.
5. RHP Kona Takahashi
- Top 50 free agent ranking: Unranked
- Possible landing spots: Diamondbacks, Rays, White Sox
Although the Seibu Lions posted Takahashi last winter, he did not secure a contract proposal to his satisfaction, leading him to spend another year in Japan where he covered 148 frames with a 2.64 ERA. Reaching age 30 in February, Takahashi now possesses full international free-agent status, freeing him from posting requirements and allowing him to negotiate on his own timeline. Operating more as a ground-ball generator than a strikeout artist, Takahashi averages 91-95 mph with his heater while deploying solid secondary options in his slider and splitter. He complements those with a cutter and curveball as well. Takahashi projects as a dependable innings eater suited for the backend of a major-league starting staff.
6. RHP Jyun-Yue Tseng
- Top 50 free agent ranking: Unranked
- Possible landing spots: Athletics, Mariners
Tseng represented Chinese Taipei during both the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic tournaments and has consistently ranked among the premier relief pitchers in the CPBL over recent campaigns. Throughout 2026, he registered 25 saves alongside a 1.80 ERA while fanning 65 batters across 52 ⅓ innings. Tseng’s four-seamer generally hovers in the mid-90s—having touched 100 mph in previous years, though not recently. His primary off-speed offering is a breaking pitch that requires further refinement if Tseng hopes to establish himself as more than a middle relief option at the major league level.
