Posted NPB, KBO players reportedly must sign before current MLB CBA expires on Dec. 1

The 2026 MLB postseason just ended, and now everyone is looking ahead to Dec. 1, 2026.

On that date, the Collective Bargaining Agreement ends, and a lockout between players and ownership is expected to begin. One under-the-radar aspect of a lockout is how it affects this year's crop of international players hoping to sign with an MLB team.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the negotiation window for players posted from Japan's NPB or Korea's KBO won't pause because of the looming lockout, meaning that posted players must sign by 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 1.

On Nov. 1, four players from NPB and KBO were posted. Pitchers Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh and infielders Teruaki Sato and Si-Hwan Roh are now free to negotiate with all 30 MLB teams.

Last year's class featured Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays) and Tatsuya Imai (Houston Astros).

One big difference this year is that the negotiations will have to move quickly. The previous lockout, ahead of the 2021-2022 season, paused the league's international negotiation window. Rosenthal reported that won't happen this year.

Posted international players from the NPB have 45 days to negotiate a deal with an MLB team. If they don't reach an agreement, they return to their Japanese team. That is technically still the case, but players won't actually have 45 days this year. Instead, if they want to agree to a deal, they must complete it by 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, before the CBA expires. With their posting becoming official on Nov. 1, that effectively gives them 30 days to close a deal.

Under the current CBA, KBO players have 30 days to sign, and that time frame remains the same. Roh will have the typical 30-day window, which also ends at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 1.

Sato might be a recognizable player to fans who watched the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He played for Team Japan and went 3-for-10 at the plate. All three hits were doubles.

He was the Central League's best player in Nippon Professional Baseball this year. He won the Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average (.306), home runs (39) and RBI (106). The 27-year-old Sato also won his second consecutive MVP award.

The 26-year-old Taira pitched in 23 games this year and worked to a 12-5 record with a 1.36 ERA. Itoh, 29, made 26 appearances in NPB and posted a 10-10 record with a 3.18 ERA.

Roh is the lone KBO player posted so far. The 25-year-old slashed .283/.360/.505 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI this season.