Posting system
Player Posting date NPB team Result
Timo Pérez February 2 , 1999 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Pérez did not draw any bids from an MLB team and re-signed with the Carp for one season . His contract was purchased by the New York Mets on March 27 , 2000
Akinori Otsuka December 18 , 2002 Kintetsu Buffaloes Otsuka did not draw any bids from an MLB team . He signed with the Chunichi Dragons on March 20 , 2003 for ¥ 95 million ( $ 800,404 in 2003 )
Yusaku Iriki November 22 , 2005 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Iriki did not draw any bids from an MLB team and was released by the Fighters on December 5 , 2005 . He was later signed by the New York Mets on January 18 , 2006 to a one-year , $ 750,000 contract
Koji Mitsui December 18 , 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions Mitsui did not draw any bids from an MLB team . He was re-posted the next month
Koji Mitsui January 8 , 2009 Saitama Seibu Lions Mitsui again did not draw any bids from an MLB team . He was re-signed by the Lions on January 20 , 2009 , to a one-year , ¥ 57 million ( $ 594,453 in 2009 ) contract
Hisashi Iwakuma November 1 , 2010 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The Oakland A 's were awarded exclusive negotiating rights on November 7 , 2010 , after bidding $ 19.1 million . Contract negotiations ended without an agreement and Iwakuma returned to the Golden Eagles
Hiroki Sanada November 23 , 2011 Yokohama Baystars Sanada did not draw any bids from an MLB team . He was later released by the BayStars
Hiroyuki Nakajima November 28 , 2011 Saitama Seibu Lions The New York Yankees were awarded exclusive negotiating rights after bidding $ 2.5 million . Contract negotiations ended without an agreement and Nakajima returned to the Lions
Tony Barnette November 2 , 2015 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Barnette did not draw any bids from an MLB team and was released by the Swallows . He was later signed by the Texas Rangers on December 15 , 2015 to a two-year , $ 3.5 million contract
Ryosuke Kikuchi December 3 , 2019 Hiroshima Carp Kikuchi did not secure a contract with any MLB team and signed a 4-year contract extension worth about ¥300 million ( $ 2.7 million ) a year with Carp on December 27 , 2019
Past postings
Of the 58 Japanese-born players who have played in MLB , [ 28 ] 16 have entered the league using the posting system . Since the system 's creation in 1998 , the 25 players that have used it have experienced a range of success . [ 4 ] Of these 25 , thirteen were immediately signed to Major League contracts and one player who drew no bids on his first posting was signed to a Major League contract on his second posting . These contracts range from $ 1.4 million to $ 155 million . Of the remaining eleven , three were signed to Minor League contracts , two were unable to reach a contract agreement and six were unsuccessful in drawing bids from any Major League clubs ( one player failed to draw bids during two separate postings ) . The following tables outline each posting and its outcome . ^§ This was Otsuka 's second attempt to play in MLB after an unsuccessful posting the previous year . ^ψ Though MLB teams traditionally disclosed bid amounts after negotiating rights were won , the Dodgers chose not to publicly reveal their amount . [ 65 ] ^† This specific amount was chosen by Red Sox owner John Henry because he deemed it lucky . [ 66 ] ^‡ The final three digits , 194 , represent Igawa 's total strikeout count for his 2006 season . [ 50 ] ^€ The final four digits represent two significant player numbers—34 was the number that Nolan Ryan , then Rangers principal owner and CEO , wore when he played for the team , and 11 was Darvish 's number with the Fighters . [ 67 ] ^µ Posting fee based on guaranteed contract value of $ 56 million . The initial deal is for 3 years and $ 43 million , but the Mariners have the right to extend the deal after the 2021 season . If they decline , Kikuchi can either elect to become a free agent or extend the deal for 1 year at $ 13 million . [ 62 ] ^P This player is a pitcher . ^2W This individual is a two-way player ( both a pitcher and position player ) .
The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the United States' Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States - Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate NPB players moving to MLB, problems began to arise in the late 1990s. Some NPB teams lost star players without compensation, an issue highlighted when NPB stars Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano left to play in MLB after using loopholes to void their existing contracts. A further problem was that NPB players had very little negotiating power if their teams decided to deal them to MLB, as when pitcher Hideki Irabu was traded to an MLB team for which he had no desire to play. In 1998, the Agreement was rewritten to address both problems; the result was dubbed the posting system. Under this system, when an NPB player is posted, his NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner, with the posting fee based on the type of contract a player signs and its value. The fee is a flat 25% of the value of a minor-league contract; for MLB contracts, the fee is based on the value of the contract that the posted player eventually signs. The player is then given 30 days to negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the NPB team's posting fee. If the player agrees on contract terms with a team before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the posting fee from the signing MLB team as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play in MLB. If no MLB team comes to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert to his NPB team. The current process replaced one in which MLB held a silent auction during which MLB teams submitted sealed, uncapped bids in an attempt to win the exclusive negotiating rights with the posted player for a period of 30 days. Once the highest bidding MLB team was determined, the player could then only negotiate with that team.