Tanaka not a big deal but there is one big-name NPB player available this offseson isn't there? How does the lockout affect him? Can he just return to NPB for 2022 then come out again in 2023?

Seiya Suzuki - he was posted on November 22. The rule is that he has 30 days from the day of the posting to work out an agreement with an MLB club, and if no agreement can be worked out, he will return to his NPB team, in his case the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. The lockout freezes his timeline. He can't sign with an MLB team while the lockout is in effect, but will have the remainder of his allotted time, which would be 20 days, to work out a deal once the lockout is lifted. The fly in the ointment is that NPB spring training starts earlier than MLB - if he returns to his Japanese team, he'd be expected to do that by February 1. If the lockout continues longer than that, he'd be unable to come to terms with an MLB team before the deadline for returning to sign with the Carp for 2022. If he decides to sign a one-year deal with the Carp for 2022, he could be posted again for 2023.

Thanks. Sounds like he'll probably have little choice but to go back for a year.