Yankees Sign Masahiro Tanaka

[Guest]

Sahadev Sharma ‏@sahadevsharma 26m

Until someone who regularly reports NPB news or speaks Japanese confirms that Tanaka definitely won't be posted, I'm remaining skeptical

 

Sahadev Sharma ‏@sahadevsharma 23m

.@yakyunightowl seems odd that MSM is citing Japanese reports, but not one NPB/Japanese person I follow has tweeted any such news...

[Guest]

Apparently some with a better idea of NPB feel the NY Times report is just a rehashing of the past few days and not the final decision.

[Guest]

Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 6m

No decision yet from Rakuten on Masahiro Tanaka.

[ctcf]

Good news is, if he makes it here, sounds like the Cubs won't be bidding against the Mariners.

 

http://deadspin.com/report-the-mariners-are-done-spending-1486374912?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[ctcf]

Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN

One executive believes Tanaka will be eventually be posted, after machinations: "All sides are doing the dance they need to do."

[abohnhoff]

Oh God... Kyle is harassing Sharma now

 

Its amazing how much this Kyle dude annoys me. I swear every message board and Cubs social platform I visit he is there harassing people.

 

Anyway. Hard to believe any kind of Japanese newspaper or source over there without knowing their credibility. I will believe nothing until someone more official reports it.

[mul21]

Oh God... Kyle is harassing Sharma now

 

That seemed to be a polite discourse......once Sharma sent him to the Japanese paper tweet.

[Guest]

Oh God... Kyle is harassing Sharma now

 

That seemed to be a polite discourse......once Sharma sent him to the Japanese paper tweet.

 

i don't care i just saw his last 5-6 tweets at the time were to kyle

[Warpticon]

Basically Sports Hochi in Japan is reporting he won't be posted, the other newspapers in Japan think he probably will be posted. The news is basically a day old.

 

http://yakyubaka.com/2013/12/18/12182013-rakuten-eagles-masahiro-tanaka-prepared-to-stay-if-he-has-to/

http://yakyubaka.com/2013/12/19/12192013-rakuten-eagles-coud-offer-masahiro-tanaka-800-million-yen-for-2014/

 

I love that that site is called Yakyu Baka.

[Guest]

I'm having a highland oatmeal stout for lunch and eating a pizza and the crawl on the worldwide leader says Tanaka ain't getting posted.

[Guest]

I'm having a highland oatmeal stout for lunch and eating a pizza and the crawl on the worldwide leader says Tanaka ain't getting posted.

 

and that's likely based on the same thus far unsubstantiated reports we've been talking about.

[Guest]

For [expletive]'s sake...this is going to take forever to get resolved.

 

 

 

@BenBadler5m

Some team officials said they thought a package deal for Tanaka would work. Other sources came up with more creative ideas to pull it off.

 

 

@BenBadler4m

Also possible a team on luxury tax bubble still pays Tanaka the same with or without a package deal, since extra $ to Rakuten is tax free

 

 

@BenBadler2m

Several sources believe, especially if no Tanaka decision comes soon, that Rakuten is exploring ways to get its money, beyond the $20MM.

 

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/how-rakuten-can-get-around-the-20-million-posting-cap-for-masahiro-tanaka/

 

For the sake of argument, let’s suppose the Eagles were counting on a $60 million posting fee, and that Tanaka’s total value would have been $120 million.

 

If the Eagles are willing to post Tanaka now with no strings attached, the Eagles would make $20 million on the release fee and Tanaka could command $100 million. But since the Eagles seem to be wavering on whether to hold on to Tanaka for another two years, the package deal would be a compromise.

 

In the package deal, an MLB team would still pay $120 million total for Tanaka, but it would be partitioned differently. The MLB team would pay $20 million as the release fee for Tanaka, $15 million as the release fee for the second Eagles player and $1 million as the contract for the second player, with Tanaka signing an $84 million contract.

 

The Eagles would generate $35 million in revenues from the two release fees. Tanaka would be taking a $16 million hit from what he might make if the Eagles were to just post him for $20 million, but doing so accomplishes his goal of pitching in MLB next season rather than waiting two years, gives him an enormous raise and surpasses Darvish’s contract ($60 million) with the Rangers.

 

The deal works out for the second Eagles player, who would get a nice paycheck for himself, then perhaps be allowed to return to Japan in 2015. The agent for Tanaka would not make as much on Tanaka’s contract compared to him being posted with no package deal, but in exchange for minimizing his risk of waiting two more years for Tanaka to become an international free agent, he’s guaranteed in the neighborhood of $4 million in revenue on the commission.

 

Of course, once Tanaka is posted, there’s nothing binding a team to signing the Eagles bench player, which is why trust between Tanaka, his agent and Rakuten would be critical. Baseball—especially in the international world—is very much a relationship business.

 

In Latin America, teams do package deals for players all the time, for a variety of reasons. Pulling off this maneuver would certainly go against the spirit of the posting agreement, but the Eagles were also the only team vehemently opposed to the new system.

 

A package deal would be a compromise for all sides involved—and one that may infuriate the MLB commissioner’s office—but it could offer a solution that benefits several parties.

[mul21]

I hope they do that just to shove it up Selig's ass. Such a stupid agreement that benefits absolutely no one but the guy getting posted.

[ChiCubsFan]

Why can't Tanaka just agree to pay the Eagles $15M ? Seems a lot less complicated.

[mul21]

Why can't Tanaka just agree to pay the Eagles $15M ? Seems a lot less complicated.

 

Not once you figure in taxes and what not.

[RynoRules]

What a [expletive].

 

This whole saga needs a nickname.

[treebird]

how on earth would the posting package deal work? once he's posted and every team bids 20 million dollars, can the japanese team really just say NOPE JUST KIDDING HE'S UNPOSTED UNLESS YOU ALSO BID FIFTEEN MILLION FOR THE BATBOY? and if not, what incentive would any team have to actually follow through on their stupid demands? and why shouldn't selig step in and say this isn't the deal we agreed to and veto any obviously bogus posting fees?

 

none of this makes any sense.

[Guest]

how on earth would the posting package deal work? once he's posted and every team bids 20 million dollars, can the japanese team really just say NOPE JUST KIDDING HE'S UNPOSTED UNLESS YOU ALSO BID FIFTEEN MILLION FOR THE BATBOY? and if not, what incentive would any team have to actually follow through on their stupid demands? and why shouldn't selig step in and say this isn't the deal we agreed to and veto any obviously bogus posting fees?

 

none of this makes any sense.

 

Yep. That package deal is wishful thinking.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

What a [expletive].

 

This whole saga needs a nickname.

 

Whatever "Professional baseball team in Japan are acting like a bunch of spoiled 8-year olds" translates to in Japanese.

[WrigleyField 22]

how on earth would the posting package deal work? once he's posted and every team bids 20 million dollars, can the japanese team really just say NOPE JUST KIDDING HE'S UNPOSTED UNLESS YOU ALSO BID FIFTEEN MILLION FOR THE BATBOY? and if not, what incentive would any team have to actually follow through on their stupid demands? and why shouldn't selig step in and say this isn't the deal we agreed to and veto any obviously bogus posting fees?

 

none of this makes any sense.

My understanding is that it's all back room dealing before the posting. Tanaka, the two teams, the two proxy player, and the agents all agree under the table to the terms.

[Proven Veteran]

how on earth would the posting package deal work? once he's posted and every team bids 20 million dollars, can the japanese team really just say NOPE JUST KIDDING HE'S UNPOSTED UNLESS YOU ALSO BID FIFTEEN MILLION FOR THE BATBOY? and if not, what incentive would any team have to actually follow through on their stupid demands? and why shouldn't selig step in and say this isn't the deal we agreed to and veto any obviously bogus posting fees?

 

none of this makes any sense.

My understanding is that it's all back room dealing before the posting. Tanaka, the two teams, the two proxy player, and the agents all agree under the table to the terms.

It would be completely obvious. I think it's more likely that Tanaka would agree to give some of his money back to the team to entice them to post him.

[WrigleyField 22]

Actually the most interesting part of that to me was that the article states Latin teams do package deals all the time. Gives some hope we can circumvent our restrictions in IFA next year, although I think you have to obviously tread lightly.

[Guest]

What a [expletive].

 

This whole saga needs a nickname.

A variant of Brian Roberts Syndrome. The first actual case was Greg Maddux.

[SouthSideRyan]

What a [expletive].

 

This whole saga needs a nickname.

 

Whatever "Professional baseball team in Japan are acting like a bunch of spoiled 8-year olds" translates to in Japanese.

 

They just lost out on ~35 million dollars due to changes to the posting system, and it's likely they lose nothing by waiting a year to post them. Not sure how they're at fault here.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

It's nobody's "fault", but they're acting like there is a conspiracy against them and trying to find any way they can to circumvent the new system that was agreed on by every other team in the league and MLB. I guarantee if they hold off on posting him until next year the new rules aren't going to magically change and give them an extra 30 million.