The Nippon-Ham Fighters of the NPB officially announced that they are posting right-handed pitcher Hiromi Itoh this offseason. That means that the pitcher, who was ranked as the No. 27 free agent available by former MLB GM Jim Bowden, will officially become an option for the Toronto Blue Jays this winter.

Bowden linked the Jays to Itoh, saying that Toronto is one of the best fits for the Japanese hurler.

Here's what you need to know.

Well Itoh is being posted by the Fighters, and will have a 45-day window to sign a contract with an MLB team.

However, once the probable MLB lockout hits on Dec. 2, the signing window will pause. So, he'll have about a month to sign with a big league team before the lockout, and then he can choose to wait the lockout out to utilize the remaining time, or, he can go back to Japan and continue his career there.

Itoh is free to sign a contract of any length with a big league team, and then once the contract is finalized, the Fighters will get additional money from the signing club.

As noted by MLBTradeRumors, the Fighters will get 20 percent of the first $25 million, $17.5 percent of the next $25 million and 15 percent after that. For instance, the Houston Astros signed Tatsyua Imai to a $54 million deal last offseason and then sent his Japanese team nearly $10 million in additional cash.

Itoh, 29, helped Japan win the World Baseball Classic title in 2023. He's also won the NPB equivalent of the Cy Young Award. He's coming off a 10-10 season with a 3.18 ERA, but he was 14-8 in 2025 with a 2.52. He's gone 65-51 for his career with a 2.91 ERA.

He struck out 159 batters in 172.2 innings this past season. He previously helped Japan win the gold medal at the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics.

I will continue to beat this drum for most of the offseason: At this time, I don't think the Blue Jays need to invest big dollars in pitchers.

Trey Yesavage, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Jose Soriano will up 4/5 of the rotation, with Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis, Nolan Perry, Ricky Tiedemann and Jake Bloss all serving as options throughout the year.

The Blue Jays need offense more as far as I'm concerned, especially if they are making moves in an uncertain economic climate.

That said, the Blue Jays are trying to build a global brand. They got to the World Series in 2025, which helped, and signing Kazuma Okamoto in 2026 helped too. Signing Itoh would continue to proliferate that goal, which is good for both baseball and business.