WEDNESDAY: According to a Sanspo report passed along by Newman, NPB officials are planning to accept the $20MM maximum bid and the new posting rules (Twitter link). There are conflicting reports on how the team would be selected, as Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times wrote this week that the posted player would be allowed to select from the teams that tie for highest bid. (The other report is that the team with the worst record with the highest bid is awarded the player.) If the team with the worst record with the highest bid is awarded the player, the Astros would have to be insane not to pay the $20mm and sign him. He's falling right into our lap. May have been the greatest year to be the worst team in the league in MLB history. **** is getting real, folks.
Neither confirmed nor speculation...as I posted, it's either that, or, the player gets to choose. Conflicting reports. If competitive balance is a factor in the new rules, it seems like it has to be team with the worst record/highest bid though.
It would suck to let the player pick. They'd pick the big market team every time I'd think. Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>11 of the 12 NPB teams reported agreed to the new posting system. Guess which one didn't. <a href="http://t.co/EjX5oXFFFK">http://t.co/EjX5oXFFFK</a></p>— Patrick Newman (@npbtracker) <a href="https://twitter.com/npbtracker/statuses/408363673413894144">December 4, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'm saying, why would the league have agreed if it hindered the chances of Tanaka posting? Is it just a case of MLB having the leverage, and leaving them with no choice?
How does the league stand to benefit from Tanaka leaving? I think it would be better off keeping its stars.
I just want to note that reading Japanese websites (with comments) translated to English is really fun. It's like watching fourth graders playing with words/creating poetry.
It makes very little sense to me to have the player "choose" which team to negotiate with. If that's the case, why don't they have an all out bidding war from the teams that offered the max $20mil negotiating fee? Something is fishy here. I know NYY and LA fans are excited, but I think they are in for a let down.
Darvish said in an interview he thinks Rakuten would refuse the posting fee and hold on toTanaka for 2 more years until he becomes a free agent
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Not only are Rakuten Golden Eagles opposed to ever-changing US posting rules, but tonight leaning against posting Tanaka, period.</p>— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) <a href="https://twitter.com/pgammo/statuses/408399318240866304">December 5, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/pgammo">@pgammo</a> The idea that Rakuten wouldn't post Tanaka for $20m has been out there in the media for a couple days now.</p>— Patrick Newman (@npbtracker) <a href="https://twitter.com/npbtracker/statuses/408399808836022273">December 5, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/isanz33">@isanz33</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FeelinKindaBlue">@FeelinKindaBlue</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/pgammo">@pgammo</a> No, he's not. He's a couple years away and he's signed through 2015 at $4m/year.</p>— Patrick Newman (@npbtracker) <a href="https://twitter.com/npbtracker/statuses/408407530197372928">December 5, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/will-the-rakuten-eagles-post-masahiro-tanaka/ With the new pending Japanese posting system putting a $20 million cap on posting fees, the question around baseball is whether the Rakuten Eagles will still post their ace, 25-year-old righthander Masahiro Tanaka. The Eagles were unhappy with the new agreement, as they were expecting the posting fee for Tanaka to exceed the $51.7 million the Rangers paid the Nippon Ham Fighters for Yu Darvish two years ago. Rakuten Eagles president Yozo Tachibana spoke with the Japanese media, including Nikkan Sports and Jiji Press. The highlights of Tachibana’s comments include: • If Tanaka wants to go to MLB, they would like to let him leave • It is questionable whether the $20 million posting fee cap is a fair price for his value • The Eagles had valued Tanaka’s posting price beyond $20 million • Convincing Tanaka to stay is a high priority So in the end, while the Eagles are obviously upset that they won’t be making as much money off Tanaka as they were anticipating, if Tanaka wants to make the jump to MLB this season, it’s expected that they will let him go. A $20 million posting fee is still a substantial amount of money for the Eagles, who control Tanaka’s rights for two more seasons. If they choose not to post him this winter, Tanaka would be only one year away from true free agency, at which point Tanaka might prefer to not be posted and wait another year to sign without any restrictions, leaving the Eagles without any compensation. As one MLB team official put it, whether the Eagles were counting on $60 million or $20 million for Tanaka, in the end, it’s likely $20 million or nothing.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mlb-mo...l-masahiro-tanaka-be-available-021719393.html ... Details of the new system, outlined to Yahoo Sports by two sources, end up with a significant portion of money going to the player as opposed to the near-50/50 split when Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka were posted. The agreement, sources said, will last three years. If a team decides to post a player, it will inform MLB of what one source called a "release price" of up to $20 million. The league will tell teams a player has been posted and inform them of his price, and 24 hours later, all 30 teams will be free to begin negotiating with the player. The player has 30 days to agree to a contract with a team; should no deal happen, he will return to his team in Japan and cannot be posted until after the next season. ...
