Taipei: Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) has decided to move up its deadline for teams to negotiate contracts with their foreign players before they become free agents to prevent breaches of the league's anti-tampering rules. According to Focus Taiwan, the previous rule under Article 96 of the CPBL's regulations allowed each team exclusive negotiation rights with its foreign players until the end of February of the following year, a deadline known colloquially as the "228 clause." This change comes in response to several reported incidents of teams not adhering to this rule, including a notable case during spring training involving the TSG Hawks and Fubon Guardians. TSG Hawks manager Hung I-chung admitted to contacting pitcher David Buchanan ahead of the official deadline, which led to dissatisfaction from the Fubon Guardians, who held the player's priority negotiation rights at that time. Buchanan eventually signed with the Hawks on February 28, where he has since started six games, ach ieving a 4-2 record with a 2.50 ERA, striking out 38 and walking only seven in 39.2 innings pitched. CPBL Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang announced that all teams agreed to the change, which effectively shortens the period during which clubs hold exclusive negotiation rights to foreign players. The January 15 deadline was chosen to align with teams' administrative schedules, consider foreign players returning home during the year-end holidays, and avoid conflicts with the South Korean league's schedule. Players who do not secure an agreement with their current clubs by this deadline will become free agents.