Japanese star Shohei Otani (sometimes spelled Ohtani) is unique in modern baseball. A star pitcher, he also serves as a designated hitter on days he’s not pitching, and he’s really good at both.
Early Friday, Otani’s team in Nippon Pro Baseball (NPB) announced that he would be available to MLB teams through the posting system. That system, where any MLB team that wants to negotiate with a posted player would agree to pay his NPB team $20 million, recently expired, but is expected to be extended.
Because Otani is 23, he is subject to new international signing rules that treat anyone under 25 the same way; teams are restricted in how much they can pay an under-25 player by how much they have available in their international bonus pool.