The Seibu Lions have agreed to publish right-hander Kona Takahashi for Main League groups this winter, in response to a report from Nikkai Sports activities. Takahashi turns 29 in February, and he has a 2.95 ERA, 13.8% strikeout fee, and 6.9% stroll fee over 116 innings and 19 begins for the Lions this season, which is his eleventh marketing campaign in Nippon Skilled Baseball.
The numbers mirror one thing of a bounce-back for Takahashi, who had a 3.87 ERA over 81 1/3 frames in 2024 and a slightly evident 0-11 report. Even with the caveat that win-loss data aren’t the very best indicator of efficiency, it was a far cry from the shape that noticed Takahashi ship a 2.20 ERA in the course of the 2022-23 seasons, as his robust 12 months included a drop in velocity and even a while within the Japanese minor leagues.
Takahashi first expressed an curiosity in coming to MLB after his massive 2022 marketing campaign, and although he has appeared in every of the final 11 NPB seasons, he nonetheless hasn’t amassed the total 9 years of service time obligatory for full free company. The Lions have however agreed to let Takahashi seek for a Main League crew a bit early, and touchdown a contract would enable the Lions to achieve some cash through a posting price.
As soon as an NPB participant is posted, he has 45 days to work out a cope with a Main League membership. If no settlement is reached, the participant returns to his Nippon Skilled Baseball membership for the subsequent season and might’t be posted once more till the next winter. If a deal is reached, the participant’s authentic NPB membership earns a posting price relying on the scale of his MLB contract. Ought to the participant signal a giant league deal value $25MM or much less in assured cash, the NPB crew will obtain 20 % of the entire assure. If the participant indicators a minor league deal, the NPB crew will get 25 % of the signing bonus, plus a later supplemental free agent if the participant is added to the MLB crew’s lively roster.
It appears seemingly that any contract Takahashi lands will likely be inside the decrease ranges of the posting system, because the Yakyu Cosmopolitan writes that Takahashi’s “market will likely be much like” that of Shinnosuke Ogasawara or Naoyuki Uwasawa. Ogasawara signed a two-year, $3.5M contract with the Nationals final January after being posted by the Chunichi Dragons, and Uwasawa signed a non-guaranteed break up contract with the Rays in January 2024 after the Nippon Ham Fighters posted the right-hander.
Takahashi has stable management however isn’t a lot of a strikeout pitcher, as his 20% strikeout fee from the 2020 season (over 120 1/3 innings) is his profession excessive in Japan. MLB groups could also be taking a look at him extra as a reliever or a swingman than as a rotation candidate, however the ever-present want for pitching implies that Takahashi has a stable likelihood of touchdown some deal to get to the majors in 2026. The Nikkai report signifies that evaluators from the Los Angeles Angels, Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers lately scouted considered one of Takahashi’s begins, so the right-hander is getting not less than some due diligence curiosity from a variety of groups.
