Kohei Arihara wants to pitch in the major leagues in the near future. Haruki Nishikawa wants to make the move as well. Hayato Sakamoto doesn't want to, but he had to address it all the same.
Welcome to Japanese baseball's new normal — where the usual offseason cycle of players signing their contracts for the following season may now see more and more stars express a desire to head to North America sooner rather than later.
Before it was mostly the absolute cream of the crop, like Masahiro Tanaka, letting everyone know they wanted to be posted in a year or two. Now it's players a rung or two down on the ladder — Arihara is a fine pitcher, but no Tanaka just yet — angling for a quick exit.