Yu Darvish said he will remain with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters next season, putting an end to speculation that the right-hander would be heading to the major leagues this winter.
"People are saying this and that about me going to the majors," Darvish wrote on his official blog Tuesday. "I received a lot of comments on my blog and my twitter site, and I'm not sure if this fits with everyone's predictions.
"But next year, I will be wearing the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' uniform," he said.
The 24-year-old Darvish was said to be considering going stateside through the posting system during the upcoming offseason. At the current rate of appearances, the World Baseball Classic winner will be eligible for overseas free agency in 2014.
Darvish's Japan teammate, the 29-year-old Hisashi Iwakuma, will be posted by the Rakuten Eagles this summer.