Major League Baseball is willing to wait two years for Shohei Otani if the young Japanese star decides the sport's new labor contract limits his value to an unacceptable level.
"Otani is a great player. We're always interested in having great players in Major League Baseball," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday. "From my perspective, I'm more concerned about having the right, durable system than whether a player comes this year or two years from now."
As part of the collective bargaining agreement MLB teams and players agreed to in November, the dividing line for international amateurs and professionals was changed from age 23 with five professional seasons to 25 with six seasons.