Japanese Pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara Set to Be Posted to MLB Free Agency

Shinnosuke Ogasawara has been a staple of the Chunichi Dragons' starting rotation over the past nine years, but the left-handed pitcher is looking to make the leap to MLB this winter.

Jul 27, 2021; Yokohama, Japan; The flags of Japan and the United States of America are raised during the playing of the national anthems before the gold medal game in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium. / Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images

Left-handed starting pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara will be posted to MLB free agency this offseason, Yahoo Japan reported Tuesday.

Ogasawara has spent the past nine seasons with Nippon Professional Baseball's Chunichi Dragons, who have approved his request to be posted. The Japanese southpaw, who turned 27 years old earlier this month, was named an NPB All-Star for the first time in 2023.

International players over the age of 25 who have played nine or fewer professional seasons are subject to the posting system, and Ogasawara fits that criteria. Once the MLB league office notifies all 30 teams that Ogasawara has been posted, he and his representatives – super agency WME – will have 45 days to negotiate a contract with big league clubs.

The Dragons would then receive a cut of whatever deal Ogasawara gets from an MLB team. Chunichi will earn a release fee of 20% of Ogasawara's contract if it less than $25 million, $5 million plus 17.5% of the amount over $25 million if it is between $25 million and $50 million, or $9.275 million plus 15% of the amount over $50 million if it exceeds that figure.

If Ogasawara cannot land a deal before his window closes, he will return to Chunichi for 2025.

Ogasawara is set to become the first player the Dragons have posted since Akinori Otsuka, who signed with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2004 campaign and spent four seasons in the majors. Otsuka has spent the past few years as the Dragons' pitching coach.

For his career, Ogasawara is 54-72 with a 3.67 ERA, 1.291 WHIP and 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Over the past three seasons, though, he is 22-31 with a 3.15 ERA and 1.177 WHIP.

Ogasawara is a 5-foot-11, 183-pound lefty, giving him a very similar physical profile to Shota Imanaga, who inked a four-year, $53 million contract with the Chicago Cubs last offseason. Imanaga – who is a 5-foot-10, 175-pound lefty – was three years older than Ogasawara when he hit MLB free agency, but he did have more impressive NPB and international resumes.

The Sporting News mentioned the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles as potential suitors for Ogasawara. Since Ogasawara has spent the past few offseasons training in Miami, perhaps the Marlins could be interested as well.

Ogasawara won't be the only Japanese pitcher to hit MLB free agency, considering 35-year-old veteran Tomoyuki Sugano is reportedly leaving NPB as well. The Chiba Lotte Marines could post 22-year-old ace Roki Sasaki, too, although he would be designated as an international amateur free agent.

The two biggest Japanese free agents from last winter – Imanaga and Los Angeles Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto – both impressed as MLB rookies in 2024. Imanaga went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.021 WHIP and 3.1 WAR, while Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.111 WHIP and 1.7 WAR.

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