Players who enter the Japanese pro baseball league as pre-draft acquisitions will only be required to play nine seasons before declaring themselves free agents, baseball officials decided at a board meeting Monday.
All such players previously had to serve 10 seasons before becoming free agents but the new revision has cut the time by 150 days -- or one season.
The new revisions will also reduce the amount of compensation awarded to teams that acquire free agents.
Players who declare themselves free agents for the first time will have 120 percent of their new salary paid to their former team instead of 150 percent -- if the former club is not compensated. Clubs that are compensated will be paid 80 percent of the player's new salary instead of 100 percent.