Nippon Professional Baseball free agency is in full swing, with teams acting quickly to reinforce their rosters for the 2026 campaign. These are the notable domestic and international signings as of November 26.
RHP Kenta Maeda – Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – Maeda, 37, returns to NPB after a strong decade in Major League Baseball. Over nine seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Detroit Tigers, he posted a 4.20 ERA and 3.90 FIP, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 2020 American League Cy Young race. He also registered 1,055 strikeouts, currently third all-time among Japanese-born MLB pitchers, behind Yu Darvish and Hideo Nomo.
Rather than returning to his original club, the Hiroshima Carp, where he was a five-time All-Star and two-time Sawamura Award winner, the Osaka native instead inked a two-year deal with an Eagles team badly in need of starting pitching. Maeda spent most of 2025 in Triple-A, only managing a 5.40 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate in 100 innings, but the veteran right-hander should still offer solid value back in his homeland with a crafty seven-pitch repertoire.
RHP Forrest Whitley – Yomiuri Giants – Whitley, 28, was released by the Tampa Bay Rays this month shortly after being added to their 40-man roster to pursue an opportunity in Tokyo. A 2016 first-round pick, he spent his entire career in the Houston Astros organization before being traded in June.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander struggled in limited MLB action, posting a 10.57 ERA across 13 appearances, but excelled in Triple-A Durham this season with a 2.60 ERA, a 30.4% strikeout rate, and an 8.8% walk rate over 55⅓ innings. Though injuries have always hampered his workload, Whitley averaged over 96 mph on his fastball and sinker in 2025 (which would rank among the hardest-throwers in NPB) and features a deep pitch mix, giving him significant upside as a starter for the Giants.
OF An-Ko Lin – Saitama Seibu Lions – Lin, 28, smashed 23 home runs and led the Chinese Professional Baseball League with a 1.000 OPS in 90 games for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions this past season. For his career, the Taiwanese-Argentinian batted .287/.373/.508 with 112 homers and a 0.55 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 583 contests.
After going through the posting system, he now moves to Japan’s Lions on a two-year contract that includes a team option for a third season. CPBL hitters don’t have a great track record of succeeding in NPB, as seen with Po-Jung Wang’s disappointing tenure in Hokkaido, but Lin will look to buck that trend and provide a boost to a Seibu lineup in desperate need of impact bats.
OF Masayuki Kuwahara – Saitama Seibu Lions – Kuwahara, 32, has played with the DeNA BayStars since 2012, posting a .267/.329/.393 line in 1,239 career games. Despite some early ups and downs, Kuwahara has developed into a reliable top-of-the-order presence. The right-handed hitter’s best season came in 2021, when he batted .310 with 14 home runs and an .843 OPS.
He’s been well above-average by OPS+ in each of the past two seasons and was a major spark plug in DeNA’s miracle 2024 postseason run, putting up a .906 OPS with 10 RBI in 14 games and earning Japan Series MVP honors. Though he’s mostly played center field throughout his career, the veteran will likely transition to a corner in Saitama with defensive standout Manaya Nishikawa locked into center.
Seibu must concede an unprotected player to DeNA as compensation for signing Kuwahara.
OF Go Matsumoto – Yomiuri Giants – Matsumoto, 32, has spent his entire career with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, posting a .265/.317/.330 line over 773 games. He spent much of his early years bouncing between the top team and the farm with limited success, but broke out in 2022 in his age-28 season, hitting .347 with 21 stolen bases and an .836 OPS to win the Pacific League batting title.
However, Matsumoto has struggled to sustain those offensive numbers, recording sub-.600 OPS marks in each of the past two seasons. The Saitama native now looks to revive his career with a fresh start in the nation’s capital. At the very least, he brings defensive stability to a club that fielded one of NPB’s weakest outfields with -25 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025.
Yomiuri must concede an unprotected player to Nippon-Ham as compensation for signing Matsumoto.
1B Bob Seymour – Orix Buffaloes – Seymour, 27, made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025, hitting one dinger with a .535 OPS over 26 games. He was far more productive in Triple-A Durham, where he launched 30 home runs in just 105 games and posted an .881 OPS, pairing a 25.7% strikeout rate with an 8.6% walk rate.
With a 117.9 mph max exit velocity this past season, the Wake Forest product has the kind of thump that can play even in NPB’s current dead-ball environment. That said, concerns about his swing-and-miss, chase rate, and defensive limitations mean he needs to rake to carve out a successful career in Japan. Orix will certainly hope the 6-foot-3, 250-pound slugger produces more than Jordan Diaz, who mustered just a .597 OPS over 50 games in 2025.
LHP Sam Long – Chiba Lotte Marines – Long, 30, logged between 40 and 45 innings at the MLB level in each of the past five seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, and Kansas City Royals, posting a 4.65 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate. In 2025, he finished with a 5.36 ERA and 5.54 FIP, but was far sharper the year before, with a 3.16 ERA and 3.89 FIP.
The Sacramento State product features a low-to-mid-90s fastball, sinker, slider, curveball, and splitter. Though he hasn’t served as a true starter aside from occasional opener assignments since 2021, he’s expected to take on that role in Chiba.
RHP Freddy Tarnok – Hiroshima Carp – Tarnok, 27, made his big league debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2022 and later spent time with the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins organizations. In 2025, he allowed just two runs and one hit over 7 ⅓ innings at the MLB level.
He also enjoyed a solid season in Triple-A Jacksonville, posting a 3.28 ERA across 68 ⅔ frames, including 10 starts, with a 26.3% strikeout rate and an 11.2% walk rate. With a mid-90s fastball, alongside a sinker, changeup, curveball, and slider, the right-hander profiles as a strong candidate to join Hiroshima’s rotation in 2026.
UTL Cam Devanney – Hanshin Tigers – Devanney, 28, was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July in exchange for Adam Frazier. At the time of the move, he was enjoying an excellent campaign in Triple-A Omaha, slashing .272/.366/.565 with 18 long balls in 69 games. However, he wasn’t able to carry that success over to his new home, posting just a .687 OPS in Triple-A Indianapolis and going 5-for-36 in a cup of coffee in the Majors.
Even so, Devanney ranked in the 94th percentile in barrel rate in the minors and brings defensive versatility that clearly appeals to the defending Central League pennant-winners. With Hanshin’s glaring hole at shortstop, the utility man could even emerge as a candidate for the starting job.
RHP Roansy Contreras – Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – Contreras, 26, pitched in parts of five MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies, compiling a 4.77 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate across 247 ⅓ innings.
In 2025, he logged a 3.73 ERA over 91 ⅔ innings, including 14 starts, while posting a 17.8% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate with Triple-A Norfolk. The Dominican righty features a mid-90s fastball and sinker, complemented by a slider, curveball, and changeup, and is expected to pitch out of Rakuten’s rotation in 2026.
C Hikaru Itoh – Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – Itoh, 36, started his career with the Orix Buffaloes in 2008 before being traded to the DeNA BayStars in 2018. He’s mostly been a backup catcher in recent years, slashing .235/.297/.317 for his career.
He played only six games for the top team in 2025 after being surpassed by top prospect Shion Matsuo. In Tohoku, he will compete for playing time alongside Hikaru Ohta, Kengo Horiuchi, Tsuyoshi Ishihara, and Yuma Yasuda.
RHP Jesus Liranzo – Tokyo Yakult Swallows – This one is not yet officially announced, but Liranzo could be a find for the Swallows. Liranzo, 30, has no Major League experience but owns a 4.31 ERA across 455 2/3 minor league innings, posting a 26.8% strikeout rate and a 12.5% walk rate, primarily as a reliever. The Dominican right-hander has also been dominant in LIDOM with the Toros del Este this season, having yet to allow a run over 10 appearances.
Other Japanese Free Agents Yet to Sign In NPB
RHP Takahiro Norimoto (Rakuten)
RHP Nao Higashihama (SoftBank)
2B Kazunari Ishii (Nippon-Ham)
OF Ryosuke Tatsumi (Rakuten)
Norimoto, a former top starter turned reliever, has expressed interest in pursuing MLB opportunities and is eligible for international free agency, though the 34-year-old could still sign with another NPB club. Higashihama is a veteran pitch-to-contact starter who has seen fewer chances in recent years on a deep Hawks team.
Ishii carries significant platoon splits but is coming off a career-best 2025 season worth 2.6 WAR. Tatsumi stands out as one of NPB’s better all-around outfielders. The 28-year-old has been an above-league-average hitter for five consecutive seasons and has amassed 56 career home runs and 95 stolen bases.
Photo: Kenta Maeda throws against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
