Reports from Japan early Friday morning say that Shohei Ohtani, the Babe Ruth of Japan and the player at the top of the Texas Rangers’ off-season wish list, will be posted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
It would have been far more newsier had the Fighters decided not to post the 23-year-old hard-throwing right-hander, who just happens to hit for power on days he’s not pitching.
Word that he will be posted, though, is news. But what now?
Major League Baseball teams can’t yet start the wooing process because the posting agreement between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball has expired.