Players will have from November 5 until November 13 to file their free agent options.  The list will of players that filed their options will become official on the 14th.  Players on the list will be free to speak to other teams beginning on the 15th.

Among some of the players that may be considering free agency:

Kensuke Tanaka (Nippon Ham, international, Class A) > wants to play in Majors

Hiroyuki Nakajima (Seibu, international, Class A) > wants to play in Majors

Toshiaki Imae (Lotte, domestic, Class A) > curious about what other teams think of him

Hayato Terahara (Orix, domestic, Class B) > Softbank

Takeshi Hidaka (Orix, international) > wants to play for a team that needs him, Hanshin interested

Kenta Asakura (Chunichi, domestic) > curious about what other teams think of him

Kohei Oda (Chunichi, international) > still considering options

Keiichi Hirano (Hanshin, domestic, Class B) > has not committed either way

Takashi Toritani (Hanshin, international, Class A) > would like to play in Majors, but is currently fifty-fifty

Kyuji Fujikawa (Hanshin, international, Class A) > wants to play in Majors

The NPB posted a list of eighty-five players with free agent options.

Earned domestic option this season: 13
Earned international option this season: 8
Earned option after claiming injury exception: 3

Players will have seven business days (Saturday, Sunday, and holidays excluded) after the end of the Nippon Series to exercise their options.  Negotiations can begin the day after a player is officially listed as a free agent by the NPB offices.

===

* first time
# re-earned

The NPB Commissioner's office released the remaining free agents after teams posted their holdover lists.

Free Agents

122 players

You can view individual holdover lists by following the links below:

• Softbank Hawks
• Nippon Ham Fighters
• Seibu Lions
• Orix Buffaloes
• Rakuten Eagles
• Chiba Lotte Marines
• Chunichi Dragons
• Yakult Swallows
• Yomiuri Giants
• Hanshin Tigers
• Hiroshima Carp
• Yokohama Bay Stars

The NPB commissioner's office announced today that the following players exercised their FA options:

2011 Free Agents

It should also be noted that Takahiro Arai and Takayuki Shinohara will be remaining with their respective teams.

The NPB released a list of players that have free agent options on Tuesday.  Of the 93 players, 22 hold domestic options while 71 hold international options.

2011 Free Agent List

* Newly earned
# Re-earned
+ Retired

Team president Nobuo Minami told reporters today that the club will be meeting with Hiroyuki Kobayashi at a hotel in Osaka some time tomorrow.  Minami and Akinobu Mayumi are expected to attend the meeting.  A multi-year deal is supposedly already on the table.

Minami: "We'll meet with him directly and have our final say.  Being able to sit down [with Kobayashi] is good news for the Tigers."

Mayumi: "I'd like for him to wear a Tigers uniform."

The Tigers have apparently secured a spring camp hotel room for Hiroyuki Kobayashi, just in case.  They'll able be ready to supply him with a uniform, when / if he signs with the team -- the company that makes the uniforms for the Tigers also makes the uniforms for the Chiba Lotte Marines and can quickly figure out Kobayashi's size.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi told reporters yesterday that he'll pitch in what ever role he's assigned to.

"I don't really care where I pitch, " said Kobayashi.  "Whichever team I sign with, I'll pitch where ever they tell me.  I have confidence I can do both (start and relieve) and want to do my job where ever they put me."

That could be good news for the Tigers, because they see Kobayashi as a set-up man for Kyuji Fujikawa.

Incidentally, Kobayashi also said that he enjoyed starting the most and that the toughest part of relieving was giving up the lead.

Hiroyuki Kobayashi worked out in Ishigaki, Okinawa on Saturday and told reporters that he wanted to prepare himself so that he'd be ready to toss a bullpen session on 2/1.

"I've tossed bullpen session on 2/1 every year," said Kobayashi.  "Regardless of how things are, I want to make sure that I'm able to toss a bullpen session on 2/1 this year. ... Making sure I'm full prepared for camp is really important.  I think my preparations are going as planned.  I'm planning on working non-stop [until camp]."

He also spoke about his game plan for 2011:

I have no intention of changing my pitching style.  I don't think my fastball is going to get any faster at this point, and the pitcher's basic goal is to try and keep the ball down low.  And more than speed, it's movement.  It's about how quick the pitch appears to move to the batter.

As for his contract situation:

Nothing will be decided while I'm here.  The only thing I can do is anxiously wait for an offer.  And I hear Hanshin will be waiting [for me] as well. ... I do think I need to decide sometime near the end of the month.  What am I looking for?  A major league deal of course.  That might be a little difficult though.

Kobayashi also once again said that he won't agree to any split contracts.

Hiroyuki Kobayashi arrived in Ishigaki, Okinawa on Friday.  He admitted to reporters he was feeling a little worried but still didn't plan on making any decisions on where he'll be playing next season at least until after his training in Ishigaki (which is scheduled to end on the 23rd).

Kobayashi's agent, Alan Nero, arrived in Japan on the 13th and contacted the Hanshin Tigers yesterday in order to tell them to wait a little while longer.  An unnamed club source also told reporters that the Tigers already submitted a request for more money from the parent company, meaning the team will be fully ready if / when Kobayashi announces he's ready to start give up on the Majors.

Incidentally, it seems the airlines temporary lost Kobayashi's bags when transferred planes at Naha Airport.  But the bags were quickly recovered and placed on the next flight into Ishigaki.  The airlines didn't seem to have any problems with Saburo's bags (it seems he flew into Ishigaki with Kobayashi).

Hiroyuki Kobayashi may have said that he's going to wait until the end of the month for an MLB offer, but the Hanshin Tigers are continuing to move ahead with their plans to put together a deal that Kobayashi won't be able to refuse, should he decide to give on the Majors.

As of now, and according to Nikkan Sports, it appears the Tigers are preparing a deal multi-year deal (2 or more years) that will likely have a base yearly salary that's at least 170M yen (the amount he made last season).  They're also thinking about giving him the number 41, the same number he wore with the Chiba Lotte Marines.