The Saitama Seibu Lions As expected, the Lions planned to post RHP Kona Takahashi and it was formally announced on November 5. They also announced Tatsuya Imai will be posted on November 10.
No posting dates have been scheduled for either player to begin the negotiating window.
Here was the formal statement on Takahashi from GM Koji Hiroike:
"He came as a first round draft pick and has pitched well since his first year. He may not have been completely satisfied with his performance over the last two years, but we have always recognized his outings and have decided to respect that and will allow him to take on his (next challenges in MLB).
He is a pitcher who can be trusted to pitch several innings and is solid. We wish he could keep playing for the Lions next year and beyond. However, given his precious desire to be posted, we have decided that this year is the right time for him to get that opportunity abroad."
The Lions were backed into this as Takahashi reached domestic free agency with seven full years of service time this season.
Here was the released statement from Takahashi himself:
"I'm trying grateful to the team for supporting me and glas they respected my wishes. I'll do my best so that I can be sure this decision was the right one. This has always been a dream of mine and I'm grateful for this opportunity."
Takahashi looks to be a mid rotation starter at best for MLB.
In bigger news with Imai, the Lions ace will also be posted as the team wrote a formal statement from Koike:
"We have decided that now is the time to take on the challenge of MLB. He has consistently expressed a strong desire to play baseball in America and we have taken the step of respecting that wish.
We hope he will demonstrate his energy and success in America. Imai has made significant contributions to the team in recent years, So although his departure will have an impact on our roster, we will continue to focus on the development of our young players and strengthen our team structure."
Here was Imai's formal statement:
I'm grateful that my request was accepted. I'm incredibly grateful that they took a lot of time and consideration into their decision after many discussions and a long time.
Every year, I've aimed to win the league and become the best in Japan, and that feeling remains the same even though I've changed teams. I'm determined to win, and I'll do my best to pitch to help the team.
Imai, 27, was one of only four pitchers in the Pacific League with an ERA under 2.00 while being dominant as the team's ace. He's versatile enough to keep opposing players off balance with several pitches and also maintaining control.
He came off his third consecutive season with at least 10 wins, but last year was his strongest with five complete games and three shutouts.
So far, he will be one of the top pitchers on the market for MLB coming over from NPB.
Lions 2026 staff announced
The Saitama Seibu Lions announced their coaching staff for 2026 at the conclusion of the 2025 regular season.
Here is the full list and we'll more some of the changes from 2025:
Ichi-gun staff
Manager: #74 Fumiya Nishuguchi
Head coach: #91 Yusuke Torigoe
Chief pitching coach: #81 Kiyoshi Toyoda
Pitching coach: #95 Tatsuya Oishi
Battery coach: #96 Shota Nakata
Chief Fielding and Batting coach: #78 Toshihisa Nishi
Batting coach: #83 Yoshiie Tachibana
Infield defense and Base running coach: #87 Satoshi Kuroda
Outfield defense and Base running coach: #84 Masato Kumashiro
Ni-gun staff
Farm manager: #79 Tatsuya Ozeki
Chief pitching coach: #72 Yoshihiro Doi
Farm pitching coach: #98 Tomio Watanabe
Farm pitching coach: #93 Hayato Aoki
Farm pitching coach: #85 Daiki Enokida
Chief Fielding coach: #77 Ryutaro Tsuji
Fielding coach: #82 Kosuke Noda
Fielding coach: #86 Shogo Akada
Fielding coach: #88 Hiroyuki Oshima
Fielding coach: #80 Keiji Obiki
San-gun staff
Chief coach: #97 Tomoshi Aoki
Fielding coach: #76 Norio Tanabe
Fielding coach: #94 Yuji Onizaki
Fielding coach: #89 Fumikazu Kimura
Fielding coach: #92 Masatoshi Okada
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There were no dismissals or removals from the 2025 coaching staff. A few changes of switching Obiki to ni-gun while Kuroda takes the ichi-gun position.
Tsuji was also promoted to a leading farm coach position meaning he'll have more responsibilities. Finally, Masatoshi Okada is on the ikusei level staff as a coach, where he retired from playing at the conclusion of 2024.
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