Seven NPB players have now declared free agency or said they will, and the list got longer on Thursday when Hiroshima catcher Shogo Sakakura and Orix’s Keita Nakagawa joined. Carp right-hander Masato Morishita is the biggest name, and he says the MLB dream hasn’t gone away.
Japan’s free-agent market is filling up fast. As of Nov. 5, seven players had either filed for free agency or announced they would: Masato Morishita and Shogo Sakakura of the Hiroshima Carp, Yuma Mune and Keita Nakagawa of the Orix Buffaloes, Kazuya Ojima of the Chiba Lotte Marines, Hikaru Ota of the Rakuten Eagles and Kona Takahashi of the Seibu Lions (Sports Hochi).
The filing period opened Oct. 29 and closes Nov. 9. NPB will announce the official list of free agents on Nov. 10, and players can negotiate with every club, including their own, starting Nov. 11 (Sports Hochi; Nikkan Sports).
Quick primer: domestic vs. international FA
Most of this class holds domestic free agency, which lets a player sign with any of the 12 NPB clubs but not with a team overseas. Takahashi is the only one of the seven who filed for international free agency, which opens the door to MLB with no posting window and no release fee (we broke down his case here). Several clubs, including Hiroshima, also allow players to declare and still re-sign, so a declaration is not the same as a goodbye.
Masato Morishita: the headliner
Morishita, 29, filed his paperwork on Nov. 4 and said he wants to hear how other clubs value him. “I’m still torn,” he told reporters at Mazda Stadium, adding that he has not decided whether to stay or leave (Nikkan Sports; translated by NPB Wire). Hiroshima has allowed him to declare and remain, and Nikkan Sports reports the club offered a raise on his estimated 200 million yen salary and a multiyear deal.
- Career: 60-59 with a 2.84 ERA, and at least 120 innings in each of his seven seasons (Nikkei; Sankei)
- 2026: 7-11, 3.60 ERA over 137 2/3 innings (NPB.jp)
- Résumé: 2020 CL Rookie of the Year; Olympic gold with Japan in Tokyo in 2021
Asked about his long-stated interest in pitching in the majors, Morishita said, “I still have that dream,” and that he will factor it into his thinking. His domestic FA rights only cover NPB clubs, though, so this winter’s decision is about where he pitches in Japan. He said he wants a team that wants to win. SoftBank and the Yomiuri Giants have reportedly shown interest (Nikkan Sports; Nikkei), and Sports Hochi adds DeNA.
The rest of the class
Shogo Sakakura (Carp, C/1B/3B, 28) announced on Thursday that he will exercise his domestic FA rights. “I want to know how much what I’ve done is valued,” he said (Nikkei; translated by NPB Wire). He led Hiroshima with 74 RBIs in 2026, hitting .251 with 15 home runs in 140 games, and can also play first and third. Nikkan Sports reports that Lotte, his home-prefecture team, plans to make an aggressive multiyear offer as soon as talks open on Nov. 11, and that Seibu is also looking into him (Nikkan Sports).
Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes, IF/OF, 30) also declared Thursday. He was a key bat in Orix’s 2021-23 three-peat and made the Best Nine as an outfielder in 2025. His 2026 was quieter: .252 with six homers and 33 RBIs in 113 games (Nikkei; NPB.jp). Hanshin has reportedly begun a full background check on him (Sports Hochi).
Yuma Mune (Buffaloes, 3B, 30) filed on Nov. 2 after a career-high 14 homers and 65 RBIs. He won three straight Best Nine and Golden Glove awards at third base during the three-peat. With an estimated salary of 62 million yen, he is expected to be a Class C free agent, meaning a signing club owes Orix no player or cash compensation. DeNA, in his home prefecture of Kanagawa, is reportedly among the interested clubs (Nikkan Sports; Pacific League.com). “I want to go where my heart burns hottest,” he said.
Kazuya Ojima (Marines, LHP, 30) filed on Nov. 2. The left-hander has thrown 100-plus innings in seven straight seasons and finished 2026 at 6-9 with a 3.53 ERA; he is 59-63 with a 3.60 ERA for his career (NPB.jp; Pacific League.com). He said staying in Chiba is still an option. Hanshin is reportedly interested (Sports Hochi).
Hikaru Ota (Eagles, C, 30) said in late October that he would declare, even after Rakuten offered a multiyear deal he called “really good.” He caught a team-high 100 games for Rakuten this year and hit .202 (Nikkan Sports; NPB.jp).
Why MLB fans should care
Takahashi is the only one of the seven who can sign in the majors this winter, and his market overlaps with the three posted players, Teruaki Sato, Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh, who are racing the Dec. 1 CBA deadline. But the domestic class still shapes the MLB pipeline. Where Morishita lands, and on what kind of deal, will affect when and how he could get his MLB shot down the road. And NPB clubs losing starters to MLB this winter could turn to this market to replace those innings.
NPB Wire’s take
This is a deep class for catchers and corner infielders, with Sakakura, Ota and Mune all likely to draw multiple bids. On the pitching side, Morishita and Ojima are the two dependable starters, and SoftBank, fresh off back-to-back Japan Series titles, keeps showing up in reports about both Morishita and Takahashi. With two filing days left, Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, the list may still grow.
Interest from specific clubs is based on Japanese media reports and has not been confirmed by the teams. Quotes were translated from Japanese by NPB Wire. Stats are 2026 NPB regular season unless noted. We’ll update this tracker as players declare or sign.
