Japanese star infielder Munetaka Murakami was posted by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) on Friday, allowing MLB teams to negotiate a potential contract with him.
How does the MLB posting process work? How long does it take? Here’s a primer on how the Japanese Posting System works.
Who’s eligible to be “posted?”
Players from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan with no more than nine years of professional experience are eligible to be posted to MLB teams. Both the player and their respective team have to agree to the posting.
When do players get posted?
Players can be posted between Nov. 1 and Dec. 5.
How long do teams get to negotiate with players?
All 30 teams have a 45-day window to discuss contract parameters with a player after they’re officially posted.
What happens after 45 days?
Should a player not reach a deal with an MLB team, they return to their respective club in the NPB.
What is a release fee?
A release fee is “an amount that an NPB club must receive in the event an agreement is reached between a posted player and a Major League club.”
What’s the percentage of money MLB teams send to the Japanese team?
- When the contract for a player is $25 million or less, the release fee is 20% of the total guaranteed money in the contract.
- When the contract for a player is between $25,000,001 and $50 million, the release fee is 20% of the first $25 million, an additional 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of the total guaranteed money exceeding $50 million.
- When the contract for a player is $50,000,001 or more, the release fee is 20% of the first $25 million, an additional 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of the guarantees exceeding $50 million.
How many players have been posted?
A combined 53 players have been posted to MLB teams since 1999. Players like Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka, Shohei Ohtani and the first Hall of Famer enshrined in both America and Japan, Ichiro Suzuki, have used the posting system to leave NPB for MLB.
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