YANKS MAKING ROOM FOR THE OHTANI PUSH

Photo: MLB.com

It's Otani... then it's Ohtani, but it was always Ohtani, but Ohtani doesn't translate well in the U.S.... and so it was Otani. And now it's not. Doesn't matter... The Yanks are gearing up to get Ohtani.

I found it interesting when the Yankees made that trade with the Marlins yesterday.  As I wrote in YANKEES SCORE ANOTHER PITCHER! GARRETT COOPER IS GONE!...

Photo: Caleb Smith / New York Daily News

"It's being reported tonight that the Yankees have traded Caleb Smith and future star first baseman Garrett Cooper for right hander Michael King and some 2017-18 International signing bonus money."

And the part about the International signing bonus money peaked my interest.  Now Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record maps it all out...

Photo: Getty Images

"The Yankees also added some international bonus pool money for their anticipated pursuit of two-way Japan League star Shohei Ohtani... And there’s likely to be a Kentucky Derby-sized field of suitors for Ohtani, the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher and lefty power hitter who is intent on playing in the majors in 2018... Also on Monday night, the Major League Players Association announced that it had agreed to a 24-hour extension – until 8 p.m., Tuesday - for a new posting agreement to be reached between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball.

And Yankees’ icon Hideki Matsui is ready to assist in delivering his fellow countryman to the Bronx. 'If he’s allowed to come here and the Yankees are interested, then I expect to be involved in that process as maybe trying to convince him or recruit him to the Yankees,’ Matsui told MLB.com on Sunday."

And that's the gist of it... positioning themselves with a shot at Ohtani.  We will know more tonight.  For now... we wait.  More Ohtani-Yankee Wonder.

Stay tuned.