MASAHIRO TANAKA, THE PROCESS & WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW

Just in case you aren't sure what's been happening with Masahiro Tanaka, there is a negotiation going on right now between Major League Baseball and Nippon Baseball on how the bidding process will work.  Now, I'm no lawyer and it is so complicated that I have stayed clear of it.  But there is someone much braver than I. Ben Badler of Baseball America.  And so, I have linked him HERE and we have included some quotes on the whole process just so you are in the loop.  I know... you go to the water cooler every day and one of your buddies always says, "Hey, what's up with that Masahiro Tanaka dude?" Well, now you can tell him.  Notice the sarcasm on that one... check this out:

"Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball are expected to continue negotiations for the posting system this week. According to multiple Japanese media reports, NPB officials are expected to fly to the United States this week to meet with MLB to try to reach a new agreement on the posting system...

...MLB had presented Japanese baseball officials with its proposed new posting system, which the Japanese players’ association was initially hesitant to accept. They accepted a two-year agreement, which was expected to be approved by MPB, but MLB changed course and took the deal off the table at the general managers’ meetings in Orlando on Nov. 14, citing a delayed response as the reason...

Under the altered system MLB reportedly proposed, the MLB team with the highest posting bid on a player would pay the average of the top two bids to the Japanese club as the posting fee. MLB is trying to reduce the posting fees, which would likely decrease the overall amount of money teams would have to spend to sign Japanese players. It would also likely allow MLB to count a greater percentage of what a team pays to acquire a Japanese player against the luxury tax, since only the posting fee itself is not subject to the tax. 

...At some point soon, the sides are expected to reach an agreement, which would clear a path for Tanaka to jump to MLB, if the Rakuten Ealges agree to post him." 

Well done Ben Badler.

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