If Brian Murphy of MLB.com Noted at the time, Takahashi was formally posted by the Seibu Lions on November 21. That’s the same date as Okamoto’s post. Both players have until Sunday, January 4 at 4:00 PM Central to sign. Imai was posted two days early, so his 45-day window closes on Friday afternoon.
Imai and Okamoto are reportedly meeting with clubs in Los Angeles this week. There is little doubt that both players will sign before their post-deadline deadline. That’s less clear with Takahashi, who doesn’t have nearly the same swing-and-miss advantage as Imai. Takahashi struck out just 14.3% of batters through 24 starts in 2025. He has never recorded a strikeout rate above 20% in an NPB season.
Takahashi is entering his age-29 season. He was an effective control artist in Japan, walking fewer than 7% of batters in consecutive seasons. He posted a 3.04 earned run average over 148 innings last year and posted a 3.39 rating over parts of 11 NPB campaigns. James Fegan and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in October that Takahashi presented himself as the fifth starter in the MLB. FanGraphs grouped him alongside Antonius Kaij And Foster Griffin in that level. Kay then signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the White Sox. Griffin signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with Washington.
A Japanese language A report from Sanspo in mid-December revealed that Takahashi’s camp was in contact with three unnamed teams. It is not known if he has received any MLB offers, nor is it clear that Takahashi would make the move to affiliated ball if teams are only willing to put minor league proposals on the table. If he doesn’t sign with an MLB club, he would stay with the Lions.
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