Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Masahiro Tanaka Might Not Be Posted This Off-Season

While the GM Meetings wrapped in Florida last night, general manager Ned Colletti and Los Angeles Dodgers management continue to wait on an agreement between MLB and NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) on a posting system.

Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka is waiting to be posted as the Dodgers look to add another international talent to the roster. However, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times talked to Rob Mansfred of MLB about where things stand:



Manfred said MLB would amend its proposal on how it acquires players from Japan. This could further delay the process of Tanaka being auctioned to major-league teams, and it’s not out of the question that the 25-year-old right-hander might not be auctioned at all this winter.

Mansfred is MLB’s chief operating officer and it’s starting to sound like there’s a real possibility Tanaka won’t be posted this off-season. MLB made a proposal to the NPB, but since it took them so long to respond, Manfred said the deal is now off the table.

It was reported last night that a two-year agreement was in place with the winning bidder paying the average of the two highest bids for the right to negotiate exclusively with Tanaka. Also, teams at the GM Meetings started to believe that the Dodgers would win the bidding if Tanaka is indeed posted.

Tanaka is slated to talk to his Japanese team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles after the Japan Series on November 20, but without a posting system in place, it’s a moot point.

If posted, Tanaka is sure to surpass the $51.7 million posting fee the Texas Rangers paid for Yu Darvish as many believe the Dodgers and New York Yankees will get into a bidding war for his services. There’s still time for MLB and NPB to get an agreement done, but things are looking increasingly bleak.

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