Here’s how the Japanese assignment system works

In the past, several players who played in Japan exploited loopholes in a previous agreement between NPB and MLB to play in Major League Baseball, leaving their Japanese teams empty-handed after their departure. Hideo Nomo, Hideki Irabu and Alfonso Soriano spring to mind.

This is why the current assignment system was created. In this way, Japanese teams can receive compensation when one of their players wishes to cross the Pacific Ocean.

The Japanese becomes one of the three best pitchers available on the market. https://t.co/tPIDlQlZgT

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) November 10, 2025

Here's how it all works.

Initially, the NPB player informs his team's management of his desire to play in MLB and asks to be made available to Major League Baseball organizations during the next posting period. The assignment period runs from November 1 to December 5, which means that announcements can be made at any time between these dates.

Players with no more than nine years' experience can be posted, though the player and his team must agree before the process begins.

The thirty MLB clubs then have 45 days to negotiate the terms of a contract with the player in question after he has been posted. Once a pact is reached, the Major League Baseball team must pay a release fee (a certain percentage of the contract) to the NPB team.

If no contract is agreed between the player and an MLB organization within 45 days, the player will return to his Japanese team for the following season and cannot be assigned again until the following off-season.

We'll see this process in action in the coming days with Munetaka Murakami and Tatsuya Imai, among others.

This content was created with the help of AI.