A notable Japanese player might be heading to the major leagues after all.
Kodai Norimoto, a right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Nippon Professional Baseball, has received an offer from Major League Baseball. This comes from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Feinsand mentioned that Norimoto is also thinking about going back to Japan but intends to make a decision about his 2026 plans by the end of this week.
Back in October, Norimoto had indicated he would look into opportunities with both MLB and NPB teams.
Having turned 35 in December, Norimoto is classified as an international free agent, which makes it easier for him to sign with an MLB team.
Due to his more than nine seasons in NPB, he doesn’t fall under the posting system that would require teams to pay a fee to sign him. Additionally, being over 25 and having played for at least six professional seasons, he’s also not affected by MLB’s bonus pool system that would restrict how much teams could offer him.
A six-time NPB All-Star, Norimoto was among the top starters throughout the 2010s.
From 2014 to 2018, he led the league in strikeouts for five consecutive years, averaging around 209 strikeouts per season during that time.
In 2024, he shifted to the bullpen but still performed well.
While his strikeout numbers have tapered off, he tallied 48 saves in the last two seasons.
In 2025, Norimoto appeared in 56 games, posting a 3.05 ERA with 16 saves and 43 strikeouts across 56 innings.
He has experience against MLB hitters, notably pitching in a no-hitter exhibition game featuring major leaguers at Tokyo Dome back in November 2014.
Norimoto, who referred to that game as “the best fight of my career,” pitched five scoreless innings against a lineup that included MLB stars like Ben Zobrist and Robinson Cano.
He expressed a bit of regret, saying, “It’s really a waste… I wanted to see how my pitch would work against MLB batters. The atmosphere of the park was very nice.”
If he signs with an MLB team, it would mark the second year in a row that a 35-year-old NPB star has signed with an MLB organization in the offseason, following Tomoyuki Kanno’s signing with the Orioles.
Norimoto would also be the fourth player from NPB to make the transition this offseason.
Another right-handed pitcher, Tatsuya Imai, recently signed a three-year contract with the Astros.
Meanwhile, infielder Munetaka Murakami has joined the White Sox, and fellow infielder Kazuma Okamoto is with the Blue Jays, both signing multi-year deals.
On the other hand, Kona Takahashi, a long-time player for the Seibu Lions, decided to return to Japan despite having an MLB offer on the table.
