Out of the 87 players eligible to file for free agency this off-season, only five players filed for free agency including Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi declaring as international free agents.
The other three players filing for free agency are thought to make a move within the NPB. The Yakult Swallows remain the team interested in INF Atsushi Fujimoto and the Yokohama BayStars are the front runner for C Tasuku Hashimoto. LHP Shugo Fujii from the Nippon Ham Fighters has also declared free agency and his destination is still up in the air, but a re-connection with the Fighters is unlikely.
The 2009 season is in the books, and the MVPs go to Yu Darvish in the Pacific League, with Alex Ramirez receiving the honor for the Central League. Darvish earns the award for the second time in his career and Ramirez obtains the award for the second straight season.
The Rookie of the Year award is received by Tokyo Yomiuri Giants outfielder Testuya Matsumoto, the first time in 51 years that two players from the same team received the RoY in consecutive years (Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi took the prize last year). The Pacific League award goes to reliever Tadashi Settsu of the Softbank Hawks.
The Best Nine Awards have also been announced and the winners are as follows: