Dodgers May Have To Wait For Otani

MLB Teams May Have To Wait For Otani
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 24 at 1:00pm CST]​

​

​

​

Shohei Otani intends to pursue a career in MLB, but that won’t stop a Japanese team from selecting him in the upcoming amateur draft for NPB teams. Masao Yamada, the general manager for the Nippon Ham Fighters, said he intends to select the highly-regarded 18-year-old with the first overall selection in the upcoming draft, according to a Sanspo report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.​

​

If an NPB team drafts Otani, he would be prevented from signing with an MLB team for several months. The drafting team would have the rights to the right-hander until the end of March, 2013 under an agreement between MLB and NPB. If he declines to sign with an NPB team, MLB teams will be able to bid on his as a free agent. Teams will be subject to international spending restrictions, but as Jim Callis of Baseball America explained this week, those restrictions won’t necessarily be a major deterrent.​

​

The Red Sox, Rangers and Dodgers appear to have some interest in Otani. The Angels don’t seem interested.​

 

more from the Dallas Morning News...

​

Dodgers assistant GM: Japanese pitcher Shohei Otani has talent to be No. 1 pick in MLB Draft
October 23, 2012 11:42 PM

Shohei Otani, the 18-year-old fireballer from Japan, has become a hot topic in baseball circles since he announced last week that he plans to jump straight to MLB.

Teams are expected to be lining up to offer Otani a seven-figure signing bonus, and the Rangers are reportedly among a group of eight clubs "leading the chase" to land him.

But just how could can Otani be?

During a recent mailbag column, Baseball America's Jim Callis provided a little more insight into that question. While answering a question about Otani's impending free agency, Callis referenced a meeting between Dodgers assistant GM Logan White and the Japanese media in September. White told the assembled press that Otani "had the talent to be the top overall choice in the MLB draft."

Obviously, that's no guarantee of success in MLB, but it is high praise and, if true, would put Otani in elite company. Since 1999, players like Josh Hamilton, Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Mauer, Justin Upton, David Price, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper have all earned the honor of being the No. 1 overall pick in baseball's summer draft.

Each major league franchise has a signing purse of $2.9 million with which to sign international amateurs through June 15 of next year, at which point many teams will get a larger purse to work with, depending on their W/L record. But Callis notes that MLB's penalties for overspending are relatively lenient.

According to Callis, teams that exceed the $2.9 million cap by 15 percent or more must pay "a 100-percent tax on the overage and be forbidden to pay an international amateur more than $250,000 during next year's signing period."

And that might not be enough to discourage a team from offering a big sum to secure Otani's signature.

"I don't think he'll have to wait until next year's signing period to maximize his money," Callis wrote. "He'll need some time to develop, but Otani has a special arm and will get paid accordingly."

​

 

good point
or maybe he has no intention of coming here
using mlb as leverage to make more over there...