NEW YORK (AP) — Infielder Teruaki Sato of the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers and right-handers Kaima Taira of the Saitama Seibu Lions and Hiromi Itoh of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters within the Pacific League are coming into Main League Baseball’s posting system and can be out there to groups to signal as a free agent from Monday till Dec. 16.
Infielder Si-Hwan Roh of South Korea’s Hanwha Eagles is coming into the posting system and may signal as a free agent from till Dec. 1.
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Sato, a left-handed-hitting 27-year-old third baseman and occasional outfielder, hit .306 with 39 homers and 106 RBIs this 12 months, successful the Central League’s Triple Crown. He was the Central League’s MVP in 2025, when he batted .277 with 40 homers and 102 RBIs. Sato was 3 for 10 with two RBIs for Japan on this 12 months’s World Baseball Traditional.
Taira, who turns 27 on Nov. 15, moved again into the beginning rotation this season and was 12-5, main the Japanese main leagues with a 1.36 ERA. He had 31 saves in 2025.
Itoh, 29, helped Japan win a a gold medal on the 2021 Olympics, pitching 5 scoreless innings over three video games, and in addition pitched for the Samurai at this 12 months’s World Baseball Traditional. He was 10-10 with a 3.18 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings this 12 months. He gained the 2025 Sawamura Award, Japan’s model of the Cy Younger Award.
Roh, a 25-year-old right-handed hitter, batted .283 with 25 homers and 96 RBIs this season.
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Whereas the posting interval for gamers from Japanese golf equipment is 45 days, it’s 30 days for gamers from South Korean groups. The deadline to signal is at 5 p.m. EST on the ultimate day of the posting interval.
MLB is more likely to lock out the Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation when their collective bargaining settlement expires on Dec. 1. In the course of the lockout that started on Dec. 2, 2021, posted gamers had been frozen in the course of the work stoppage and signing home windows continued after an settlement between MLB and the union was reached on March 10.
Below MLB’s posting agreements with Nippon Skilled Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organizations, the posting price could be 20% of the primary $25 million of a significant league contract, together with earned bonuses and choices. The share drops to 17.5% of the following $25 million and 15% of any quantity over $50 million. There could be a supplemental price of 15% of any earned bonuses, wage escalators and exercised choices.