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.

Hiroyuki Kobayashi finished up his training at Chiba Marine Stadium on Wednesday and told reporters afterward that his deadline for signing an MLB contract would be the end of January.  And it seems, at this point, the only serious offer (non-minor league or non-split-contract) he has received is from the Hanshin Tigers.

"I have nothing," said Kobayashi.  "MLB offer?  None yet.  I don't want a minor league deal or a split contract.  I will wait for an MLB deal.  And I told my agent to wait as well."

Kobayashi will be moving his workouts to Ishigakijima, Okinawa (arrive on the 14th and training to commence on the 15th).

According to reports filed by both Daily Sports and Sanspo, it appears there's a good chance that Hiroyuki Kobayashi will sign a deal with the Hanshin Tigers in the coming week.

Sanspo's claims they learned on Monday that Kobayashi's agent, Alan Nero, will be flying into Japan sometime later this week and could meet with the Hanshin Tigers as early as the 12th.  And in order to land Kobayashi, the Tigers are expected to submit their best offer.

In addition to some of the points mentioned yesterday, Daily Sports (DS) reports that Kobayashi has received minor league offers from 6 MLB clubs and that some (or perhaps all) of those deals are split contracts.  DS furthers says that when Kobayashi said an invite to spring camp would be "a little tight" he actually meant he wasn't interested in signing a split contract at all.  That would mean none of the offers currently on the table will appeal to Kobayashi.  DS goes on to say that Kobayashi may have a "deadline" of the 15th for receiving an MLB offer, after which point if he receives none, he may turn his attention towards the NPB.  And since the Hanshin Tigers are the only team that have been pushing for his services, they may be the ones to sign him.