Hiromi Ito Gets Fighters' Approval for MLB Move as Labor Deadline Looms

A December target for a childhood dream

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters approved Hiromi Ito's bid to move to Major League Baseball on November 1, 2026, starting the posting application process for a pitcher who won the Sawamura Award just one season earlier. The 29-year-old wants to tell the club and its fans his decision by December, with a possible MLB lockout threatening to squeeze the time available to find a team.

Ito finished the 2026 season with a 10-10 record after leading the Pacific League with 14 wins in both 2024 and 2025. His appeal goes beyond those victories: he has reached double figures in wins in five of his six professional seasons and compiled a career earned run average of 2.92 across 152 appearances.

The announcement came during the Fighters' third day of fall camp at Es Con Field Hokkaido. It opens negotiations over the future of a player born and raised in Hokkaido who became a central figure in his local team's starting rotation.

Ito, a right-handed starting pitcher, explained his ambition in a statement released through the Fighters:

Playing in Major League Baseball has been a dream since I was a child and one of my goals for a long time.

His choice will involve more than a salary. Ito said he would consider his development as a pitcher and his family when listening to interested clubs. Wasserman agent Joel Wolfe is expected to handle negotiations on his behalf.

The immediate task is to turn the Fighters' permission into a contract. No destination, official offer or completed MLB agreement has been announced.

Why the Fighters' permission matters

Ito has completed six professional seasons and has not yet qualified for international free agency, which generally requires nine years of qualifying service in Japanese professional baseball. Posting gives him an earlier route to MLB, provided the Fighters agree to make him available.

Under the current system, every MLB club willing to pay the required release fee can negotiate with a posted player. The player chooses among the opportunities available, while his Japanese club receives compensation if a contract is completed.

The annual posting application period runs from November 1 to December 15. The standard negotiating window is 45 days, beginning after MLB formally notifies its clubs that the player is available. Nippon-Ham's November 1 announcement concerned the start of its application procedures; the precise notification date was not given.

Without a contract by the applicable deadline, Ito would remain with the Fighters. The uncertainty this offseason concerns how the usual window would operate if MLB business stopped during a labor dispute.

How a lockout could shorten negotiations

MLB's current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, or December 2 in Japan. That agreement sets the working rules between team owners and players, including many of the rules governing contracts and player movement.

A lockout occurs when owners stop players from working during a labor dispute. An MLB lockout would also halt major league signings and trades, potentially leaving Ito with less than a month to complete a deal if the stoppage begins when the agreement expires.

Owners and the players' union have been negotiating a replacement agreement, with a proposed salary cap among the disputed issues. A salary cap would limit how much a team could spend on player salaries.

There have been reports that MLB rejected a union request to pause posting clocks during a possible lockout. MLB had not formally announced that treatment, so December 1 remains a potential practical deadline rather than a confirmed replacement for the standard 45 days.

What the Suzuki precedent shows

Seiya Suzuki's move from Hiroshima to the Chicago Cubs illustrates how much the handling of the clock can matter. His posting process began shortly before the previous MLB lockout, but negotiations resumed after the stoppage because his remaining negotiating time had been preserved.

Ito is pursuing an earlier decision. The key dates connecting the two situations are:

• November 22, 2021: Suzuki was posted by Hiroshima.
• December 2, 2021: MLB's previous lockout began, with Suzuki's posting clock paused.
• March 10, 2022: MLB and the players' union reached a new labor agreement.
• March 18, 2022: The Cubs formally announced Suzuki's signing.
• October 23, 2026: Ito publicly described his difficult choice between staying with the Fighters and pursuing MLB.
• November 1, 2026: Nippon-Ham announced its approval and began posting procedures.
• December 1, 2026: The current MLB labor agreement expires. Ito hopes to report his decision by December.

Suzuki's experience gives Ito a useful reference point, but the current negotiations involve a different proposed treatment of posting time. For Ito and Wolfe, an agreement before December would reduce exposure to that uncertainty.

A weaker season, with substantial work behind it

Ito's 2025 season set a demanding benchmark. He went 14-8 with a 2.52 ERA in 27 games, led the Pacific League with 195 strikeouts and earned the Sawamura Award, which recognizes an outstanding starting pitcher in Japanese professional baseball.

He also threw a personal best of 196⅔ innings that year. An inning normally requires three outs, so that total reflects both frequent appearances and an ability to pitch deep into games.

In 2026, Ito made 26 starts, struck out 159 batters and finished 10-10 with a widely listed ERA of 3.18; another season summary listed 3.16. ERA measures the earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings, with a lower figure indicating fewer runs allowed.

Using the 3.18 figure, his ERA rose by 0.66 from 2025, while his strikeout total fell by 36. Those changes help explain why assessments of his MLB market have become more cautious.

Ito still supplied more than 170 innings, three complete games and 19 quality starts. A quality start means pitching at least six innings while allowing no more than three earned runs. His 19 quality starts represented about 73 percent of his 26 starts, showing how often he gave the Fighters a substantial outing.

What MLB clubs will be weighing

Ito brings a varied collection of pitches, good control and a record of handling a starting pitcher's workload. He has reached Japan's qualifying innings threshold in every professional season, giving prospective employers six years of evidence about his durability.

His physical profile and fastball have attracted more cautious assessments. Ito stands about 175 centimeters, or 5 feet 9 inches, and evaluations describe his typical fastball around 92 to 93 miles per hour, approximately 148 to 150 kilometers per hour. He can also exceed 150 kilometers per hour.

For an MLB club, the central question is how effectively his pitch variety and command would work against major league hitters. Command means placing pitches where intended, allowing a pitcher to attack weaknesses rather than relying entirely on speed.

Published offseason rankings placed Ito 21st and 26th among available players in two assessments. Both placed Seibu pitcher Kaima Taira 19th. Another evaluation ranked Ito 16th specifically among available starting pitchers, a narrower group.

The rankings point toward a market that values Ito as a possible addition to a rotation rather than treating him as the offseason's leading pitching prize. His experience and innings remain selling points even after a less dominant season.

Possible destinations and the cost of a deal

The San Francisco Giants have reportedly scouted Ito and Taira as they consider starting pitching additions. The Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres have also appeared in predictions about possible destinations. Those predictions remain separate from formal offers.

Contract estimates range from $22 million over two years to $75 million over five years. The shorter projection averages $11 million annually, compared with $15 million for the longer one. The greater difference is the length of the commitment: five guaranteed seasons would give Ito considerably more security.

The highest estimate values his durability and projects him as a pitcher capable of filling a middle position in an MLB rotation. Lower estimates put greater weight on his 2026 decline and questions about how his pitches would translate to MLB.

Nippon-Ham would receive a release fee from the signing club in addition to the money paid to Ito. For a major league contract, the fee is calculated in tiers: 20 percent of the first $25 million guaranteed, 17.5 percent of the next $25 million and 15 percent of any guaranteed amount above $50 million.

A guaranteed contract worth $22 million would therefore generate a $4.4 million fee. A guaranteed deal worth $75 million would produce $13.125 million. Those calculations use the published projections, not negotiated terms. Additional compensation can arise from bonuses actually earned.

A Hokkaido career with international experience

Ito grew up in Shikabe, Hokkaido, attended Komazawa University Tomakomai High School and later pitched for Tomakomai Komazawa University, now Hokuyo University. Nippon-Ham selected him in the first round of the 2020 draft, and he began his professional career in 2021.

He won 10 games in each of his first two seasons. In 2024, his 14-5 record earned him the Pacific League titles for wins and winning percentage. Another 14 victories followed in 2025, alongside the strikeout title and Sawamura Award.

His six seasons have produced a 65-51 career record and three All-Star selections. Ito has also represented Japan at two World Baseball Classics and won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

His latest postseason appearance added another example of his persistence. In the deciding third game of the Climax Series first stage, he worked through two incidents during the game, completed five innings and earned the win.

Nippon-Ham has helped several prominent pitchers take the same route abroad. Yu Darvish was posted after the 2011 season and Shohei Ohtani after 2017. The club most recently used the system for Naoyuki Uwasawa in the 2023 offseason; Ito would be its seventh player to pursue a move through posting.

Support from a team preparing for a possible loss

Manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo supports Ito's decision while also hoping the pitcher might remain with the Fighters. Shinjo understands the attraction of playing in MLB: he joined the New York Mets after the 2000 season, choosing that opportunity despite a more lucrative proposal from the Hanshin Tigers.

Infielder Kotaro Kiyomiya, who heads the Fighters' players' association, has also backed Ito's ambition. He identified the pitcher's competitive intensity as a strength he hopes to see on an MLB mound. For his own part, Kiyomiya said he would concentrate on hitting and defense to help the team absorb a possible departure.

Nippon-Ham would have to replace a starter who supplied more than 170 innings this season. The release fee would provide money, while the baseball challenge would be distributing those innings among other pitchers.

Ito acknowledged the competing pulls of his ambition and his attachment to the Fighters. In his statement, the pitcher described what he would consider during negotiations:

Within the limited period, I want to listen carefully to the offers from MLB clubs that value me and make the best decision, considering my growth as a pitcher and my family.

He thanked his parents, wife, teammates, club staff and fans, as well as the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association and MLB Players Association for their work on the posting system. His stated goal is to play in MLB next season while leaving the Fighters with gratitude for the opportunity they gave him.

Key Points

• Nippon-Ham approved Hiromi Ito's MLB pursuit and began posting procedures on November 1, 2026.
• The 29-year-old won the 2025 Sawamura Award and finished 2026 with a 10-10 record.
• Posting normally allows 45 days of negotiations, but a possible December lockout creates uncertainty over the usable window.
• Ito wants to report his decision to the Fighters and their fans by December.
• The Giants have reportedly scouted him; no official offer or destination has been announced.
• Published contract projections range from $22 million over two years to $75 million over five years.
• Ito is weighing his pitching development and family needs alongside his childhood ambition to play in MLB.