Japanese right-handed pitchers Kona Takahashi and Tatsuya Imai were teammates on the Saitama Seibu Lions from 2018-25, and both were posted for MLB free agency this winter.
While Imai has found a big league home in Houston, Takahashi will end up returning to Nippon Professional Baseball for the upcoming season, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Takahashi’s negotiating window was set to close on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, and according to a source, he had three Major League offers on the table. Now, he will instead sign a new multi-year deal with Seibu, per source, one with opt-out clauses that would allow him to return to the open market next year as an unrestricted free agent rather than part of the posting system.
Imai was considered the top international free agent pitcher on the market this winter, but Takahashi was also an accomplished pitcher in Japan and former NPB All-Star.
The right-hander, who turns 29 on Feb. 3, had a bounceback season for the Lions in 2025, posting a 3.04 ERA in 24 starts with 88 strikeouts in 148 innings.
Takahashi had struggled the season before that, making just 15 starts and going 0-11 with a 3.87 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings in 2024.
The best of Takahashi's 11 seasons in Japan came from 2022-23. He had a 2.20 ERA in 49 starts over those two seasons with 248 strikeouts in 330 2/3 innings.
Takahashi averages around 93 mph with his fastball, and he also features an 88 mph splitter, 81 mph slider, 89 mph cutter and 75 mph curveball. Takahashi's slider is his most-used secondary pitch against right-handed hitters, while his splitter is his most-used secondary pitch against lefties.
Takahashi doesn't generate the same swing-and-miss and strikeout numbers as his teammate Imai, but he has been very good at inducing ground balls, routinely posting ground-ball rates well over 50% in NPB.
Takahashi was a first-round pick in the 2014 NPB Draft and made his NPB debut as an 18-year-old the next season. In his career with the Lions, Takahashi went 73-77 in 196 outings with a 3.39 ERA and 870 strikeouts in 1,199 innings.