These past few weeks have seen a lot of activity with regard to overseas free agents coming over from Japan to North America. However, it does not appear that Kona Takahashi will join that group for 2026. The 28-year-old will reportedly stick with his NPB team for at least the 2026 season — and perhaps beyond.

Takahashi will reportedly not join MLB team

Per MLB.com, Japanese pitcher Kona Takahashi will reportedly sign a new deal with his NPB team, the Seibu Lions, for 2026. It will contain opt-outs that will allow him to test the market again as early as next year.

Takahashi reportedly had three offers from Major League teams and could have accepted one before his posting period expires on January 4. Instead, he’ll stick in the NPB for now.

The 28-year-old Takahashi has been with Seibu since 2015 and posted some strong ERA figures over the years. The right-hander had a 2.20 ERA in 2022 and a 2.21 ERA with the Lions a year later. This past year, Takahashi recorded a 3.04 ERA with 88 strikeouts over 148 innings.

Since the 2017 campaign, Takahashi never posted a K/9 better than 7.5. Perhaps part of the reason why Takahashi’s market wasn’t as strong as that of now-former teammate Tatsuya Imai was that he doesn’t miss a ton of bats.

His fastball, which averaged 93 MPH this past season, was a heavy-groundball weapon (52% in 2025). Takahashi also generated grounders with his splitter and cutter.

By the way, this is not the first time a notable Japanese foreign agent opted not to go to North America after being posted.

Tomoyuki Sugano, now a Major League free agent after spending 2025 with the Orioles, was originally posted in 2020 by the Yomiuri Giants. Sugano never signed and instead stayed with the Giants until the end of the 2024 campaign.

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