Shohei Ohtani Signs with the Angels

[davell]

Law and Longenhagen don't see him as a major league caliber hitter.

[texascub]

Otani has now hit a double that disappeared into the ceiling of the stadium:

 

https://twitter.com/sung_minkim/status/797769112348831744/video/1

 

Edited to add: I originally thought it was a homer, but was called a double.

 

Here it is in real time:

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/sung_minkim/status/797770561589870592/video/1

[imb]

here he is taking jair jurrjens very deep

 

[tweet]https://twitter.com/piklr/status/797397373693501440[/tweet]

 

that went about what? 3,000 km? or meters? i dont get the metric system. HE ALMOST HIT THAT ONE TO YOKOHAMA

[David]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKJ-tNtrUJk

[Transmogrified Tiger]

JJ Cooper points out that Otani would be subject to International bonus pools if posted this offseason(because he's under 23 and has < 5 years pro experience), which should seemingly kill any lingering hope of him being in MLB in 2017: http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/pool-rules-will-keep-otani-coming-u-s/#UYICFy5xjWxwo9yT.97

[Sammys Boombox]

[tweet]

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A star pitcher and designated hitter, Otani will be the most sought-after player next winter, and rival executives believe the Cubs will be all-in on that pursuit when the contracts of Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are set to expire.

[Tim]

love love love

[Little Slide Rooter]

I think that we should offer him a lot of money in exchange for his baseball playing services.

[Cubswin11]

Someone refresh my memory on the bidding process again.... It's not a blind bid anymore, right? As long as you have the highest payment offer to the team (up to $25 million I think) you get to present/negotiate a term with the player and multiple teams can have the highest "buyout" number to team, right?

[davell]

Someone refresh my memory on the bidding process again.... It's not a blind bid anymore, right? As long as you have the highest payment offer to the team (up to $25 million I think) you get to present/negotiate a term with the player and multiple teams can have the highest "buyout" number to team, right?

 

Its 20 mill. Any team that offers that will have the ability to negotiate with him.

[Sammy Sofa]

[Abedunk34]

Ok, now I'm completely on board with this.

[CP_414]

So Morosi tweeted that the IFA limits will now apply to Cubans under 25, not 23. That would really suck if they just delayed Otani's arrival by 2 years, assuming it also applies to Japan/Korea.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So Morosi tweeted that the IFA limits will now apply to Cubans under 25, not 23. That would really suck if they just delayed Otani's arrival by 2 years, assuming it also applies to Japan/Korea.

 

JJ Cooper confirmed that the current age limit applies to NPB players in the posting system, so unless there's a change that will be the case there as well and Otani can't come over til after 2019.

[Banedon]

[Sammy Sofa]

SHUT THE THREAD DOWN.

[Liam Neeson]

His arm will have died by then. RIP

[Banedon]

So I guess we don't need to save that money now, and can go spend it?

[davell]

So I guess we don't need to save that money now, and can go spend it?

 

We need an Arrieta replacement. I guess its possible we're in on Hill. But that's a band aid move anyway. I guess this makes it slightly more likely we give up what it takes for Archer?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So I guess we don't need to save that money now, and can go spend it?

 

I think that narrative was probably a silly one from the start. Next year they lose nearly 50 million alone from Montero, Arrieta, and Lackey. Assuming Montgomery or a trade target fill one of those SP slots, you have a lot of money to work with to spend on starting pitching. Otani would have been the headliner, but guys like Darvish, Duffy, and Pineda could be worthy targets too. No need to borrow from today to afford tomorrow.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

So in attempting to curb a "problem" (Cubans 23-25 who aren't restricted by the bonus caps) that won't be a problem much longer (we've nearly tapped out the Cuban market plus the improving relations between countries surely means player procurement will change soon), we're now restricting potential game-changing talent from coming from Asia.

 

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[Cubswin11]

Soooo, would a work around be to give him the max 5-6 mil then immediately sign him to an extension for like $200 mil?

[Banedon]

Soooo, would a work around be to give him the max 5-6 mil then immediately sign him to an extension for like $200 mil?

 

But you're still getting 2 cheap years that he otherwise would've gotten big bucks for.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Soooo, would a work around be to give him the max 5-6 mil then immediately sign him to an extension for like $200 mil?

 

I don't think it would in practice. The only way Otani agrees to it is if the contract basically grants him FA after a year(which may not even be possible). Otherwise a team could say 'welp, tough luck' once he signs and they have him on normal pre-arb prices. From a team's perspective, you need to be sure that you can ink that extension, lest you pay $25 million to smuggle Otani and then lose him. If they grant that immediate FA then that's a ton of risk/leverage placed in Otani's hands. Plus you have to probably collude with Otani/his team ahead of time so he actually knows that's what's going to happen and they proceed to post him.

[Cubswin11]

Soooo, would a work around be to give him the max 5-6 mil then immediately sign him to an extension for like $200 mil?

 

I don't think it would in practice. The only way Otani agrees to it is if the contract basically grants him FA after a year(which may not even be possible). Otherwise a team could say 'welp, tough luck' once he signs and they have him on normal pre-arb prices. From a team's perspective, you need to be sure that you can ink that extension, lest you pay $25 million to smuggle Otani and then lose him. If they grant that immediate FA then that's a ton of risk/leverage placed in Otani's hands. Plus you have to probably collude with Otani/his team ahead of time so he actually knows that's what's going to happen and they proceed to post him.

That's precisely what I'm saying