And he’s just 23, which means he’ll come cheap because posting rules as of December 2016 forces any player age 25 or younger leaving Japan to be paid from international bonus poll money.
That means Otani probably will earn about $4 million to $6 million next season and not be able to become a free agent until he has six full seasons of Major League service time as opposed to landing a projected $200-250 million contract by waiting until he’s 25 to leave Japan.
On Otani coming to majors: “I’ve heard people talking about him, but I know nothing about him.