THURSDAY: The posting fee will actually be split into four payments over 18 months, Major League sources tell Scout.com's Kiley McDaniel. According to McDaniel, the payment schedule breaks down as follows:
- 50 percent of posting fee due within 14 days of the submission of the posted player's contract (for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, that would mean $10MM on Feb. 7).
- 17 percent of the posting fee due within six months of the submission of the posted player's contract ($3.4MM for the Golden Eagles on July 24).
- 17 percent of the posting fee due within 12 months of the submission of the posted player's contract ($3.4MM for the Golden Eagles on Jan. 24, 2015).
- 16 percent of the posting fee due within 18 months of the submission of the posted player's contract ($3.2MM for the Golden Eagles on July 24, 2015).
TUESDAY: Under the new system, the maximum $20MM posting fee for Japanese players calls for teams to pay in two installments, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The NPB club posting their player will get $13MM in year one and $7MM in year two.
The idea behind that wrinkle, Rosenthal tweets, is to give more clubs a realistic opportunity to bid on a top flight talent. That could have an impact on this year's chase for Masahiro Tanaka. There are likely many teams that are believed to have serious interest in Tanaka but are waffling on the potential price tag. With the $20MM posting fee split up over two years, the cost could be a little bit easier to swallow.
Saving 7 million for one year on a contract that is likely to reach at least $150 million is not going to make one bit of difference,
You really think someone is going to give him a 150 million dollar contract on top of the 20 million posting fee!?
At least $150 million? Are you thick?
Yes, I was just going to say that. I would think that between $150 million and $200 million is a sure thing
Darvish has made everyone crazy. Any team that offers over $150MM will regret it shortly. He’s not a high strikeout pitcher and pitching to contact will only take him so far in MLB. I think he will be a solid #2 or #3 but that kind of money is just insane for Tanaka’s skill set.
Its not going to 150 million
I don’t disagree with the fact that he probably won’t be worth even close to that amount of money on the field, but I think it could be argued when you account for revenue. There’s a lot more to signing some players than just winning games. He will most likely bring in a huge wave of the asian demographic wherever he goes. Look at the amount of publicity/money the Rockets got from having Yao on their team even when he was injured… Tanaka could very well end up being worth that money even if his production is not
Huh? Darvish isn’t a high-strikeout pitcher? You seriously need to look at him again. He’s a HUGE strikeout pitcher. To the tune of a 11.89 K/9, 32.9% K-rate, 50% contact-rate and 12.6 swinging strike-rate. All of those are practically off the chart for a closer; let alone a starter. No one’s been in that ballpark for over 10 years. He’s — by far — the biggest strikeout pitcher in the game.
He was talking about Tanaka.
He was referring to Tanaka
I think both sides are right. He’s a huge risk, unproven in MLB, has a ton of innings on his young arm. That said, he’s in his prime and basically an unrestricted free agent. He’s going to get one of the craziest contracts in history. Whomever signs him might regret it shortly. Or maybe he’ll be as good as many teams think, and there are no 25 year old #1 or #2 sp’s in free agency.
He is a career 8.5 SOs per 9 innings. That`s not something to spit at. Pitchers are hard to come by. He will demand a 100 mill minimum and probably get more!!
I’d love for my Phillies to sign him, but anything more than $120M is ridiculous. Even that might be too much, but that’s probably what it’ll take.
I agree with pollbuster2. There are too many teams involved, for Tanaka to go cheep. He may not end up being worth it, but demand will push up the price to at least 7/$140. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team sticking their neck out for more years, since he is so young. How about 10/$180 or 10/$200 counting the posting fee? It only takes one (I won’t be out bid) team to make that happen.
I couldn’t agree more and my best bet is that team will be the Yankees.
Not when the posting fee is 20M. But if it was the old value it really would. Many teams don’t have that money just sitting around, player salaries are hopefully paid out from ticket sales at the moment.
Also really doesn’t make that much sense in the current system. Teams like the Rays won’t really be going that hard for him. The teams that will be going the hardest for him are the ones that actually have the money available immediately.
It’s going to make a difference on other players.
And tanaka isn’t getting 150, I don’t think.
120-130 i think is his top
Sure.
Dodgers, Yankees, Mariners, Angels- well give you 7 years and upwards of 115 mill; we will also help you kick back some money to Rakuten. Also if anyone beats our offer we will beat theirs.
Everybody else- we can only go as far as 6 years and 100mill or less.
It’s a nice dream to let every MLB team have an opportunity, but at the end of the day whoever offers the most will get Tanaka. People may hate it but all the new posting system has done is made guys that want to be posted negotiate with their clubs to post them for a fee:; it’s a business not a charity and the NPB has a right to do what’s best for them not the MLB.
The NPB is probably thinking that the players get more publicity on a bigger market team anyway. That’s easily what they’re shooting for.
This would have made more sense before the $20 million cap. 60% of the posting fee year one and the other 40% the following year.
$20 million is not that big of a deal imo. MLB is loaded.
Agreed. Of the teams that have a realistic shot to land Tanaka, I can’t imagine deferring $7MM to the second year is going to be a difference maker.
Wow that makes this an even worse deal for the NPB.
yeah it really does.
Well, I suppose the dollar could get stronger between now and next year and could outdo inflation on the Yen and give the NPB team slightly more money, but then again I could also sign with the Sox tomorrow.
Can I have get your autograph just in case?
Tell me again why NPB agreed to rework the system…
One reason is that one team getting a $60+M win fall is great for that team, but not great for the rest of the league trying to compete with that money.
Because MLB is a much stronger league and being able to partner with them is keeping NPB afloat or at the very least giving them much needed infusion of cash. MLB is the bully, but can afford to be. NPB doesn’t want their players pulling a Hideo Nomo and retiring from Japanese baseball and signing a US contract the next day.
The NPB is made up of owners who are among the richest corporations in the world. Rakuten has revenues of 5 billion US per year and over 10,000 employees. They won the teams not to make money but to market their core business. Their players going to the US gives them global exposure which is at least as important as the money. The idea that MLB is keeping them afloat is amusing.
You are right in that having a deal to control when their players leave is in their interest. Its probably less important for MLB to have a deal although MLB has significant interests in Japan, with about 300 million dollars from Japanese annually .
Fair enough. I admit I don’t really know a whole lot about the wealth of the NPB ownership. It does sound like those teams are an advertisement for their real business rather than an actual business like MLB. Kind of like a corporate softball team with a larger audience. One thing I am sure of is that there are more Japanese youths that want to grow up to be a player for the Yankees than there are American youths that want to grow up to be a Chiba Lotte Marine. MLB has most (if not all) of the power in this relationship and NPB just has to take whatever they are given or they can lose a lot of exposure and be virtually forgotten like Latin American pro leagues. If they don’t kowtow then MLB will just start going in with their millions and signing 16 year old Japanese kids just like they do in Latin America.
They proposed a change under pressure from their players union who was not happy with the previous system. MLB then took the opportunity to rework it even more by capping the posting bid instead of averaging the top 2 bids. If the Japanese simply let it renew as it had done in the past, there would have been no change.
What is a better deal assuming similar total costs?
1. Pay $20MM posting fee, and pay Tanaka for his age 25-30 seasons? (6 years)
OR…
2. Trade for Scherzer and sign him for his age 30-34 seasons (and get his 2014 age 29 season at a discount too)? (6 total years).
Scherzer has higher upside, but Tanaka is younger. It seems pretty close.
Well Scherzer is actually proven in MLB too, so there is that big difference as well. I’d take Scherzer over the gamble any day.
Proven as what? Experience? I would say yes to that. But proven as a top tier pitcher? I would disagree there. Scherzer really only had one Cy Young caliber season. We don’t know if he’ll repeat until he does.
You don’t think the current Cy Young winner is more proven than the player that has never had a big league pitch? It is silly to say he isn’t proven unless he repeats his Cy Young season.
I didn’t say that. I was just talking about Scherzer alone.
“Scherzer has higher upside”
uhm….. I know he had a very good year last year, but that’s certainly debatable
So Tigers should, logically, outbid the field and sign Tanaka and trade Scherzer… right?
Scherzer’s won the Cy Young award, he’ll be favorite to win another. Tanaka is seen as a #2 starter. Even if he exceeds that, its a reach to assume he’ll ever be so good he’ll be a favorite to win a Cy Young.
Tanaka is no number 2. you don’t go 24-0, with a 1.27 era, and a 94 mph fastball with high accuracy…easily…would not surprise me if Tanaka takes a run at the Cy young award. there’s too much racial bigotry going on, to have an objective conversation with anybody here…
I wish I could make a bet with you that he doesn’t crack the top 5 in cy young voting next year.
This aspect always confuses me. If a team is showing apprehension about a 20 million dollar payment, why would they be OK with a 120 million dollar contract? Does the installment of posting fee payments really make any difference?
This system was not designed exclusively for Tanaka, it is for all NPB player most of whom will not get a 120 million dollar contract.
I like that reasoning except you would think a player who doesn’t max out the bid wouldn’t have a contract big enough where the posting fee becomes an issue. I guess I’m just not seeing a clear example where there is a huge need for this, either the player is affordable or they aren’t.
This system was not designed exclusively for Tanaka, it is for all NPB player most of whom will not get a 120 million dollar contract.
I don’t understand why NPD agreed to this deal.
The first bullet point should be 50 percent.
Edited, thanks for pointing it out.
First bullet needs to get fixed. should say 50% not 10%
half == 10%
??????
Close enough..
It’s half of 20%!
That first payment is 50% not 10% Im assuming as the currently listed percentages add up to only 60%
Just a point of editing, the first amount i suspect is 50% not 10%
Just a point of editing, the first amount i suspect is 50% not 10%
Ah yes, the good old 50/17/17/16 split, naturally. I wonder if they could’ve possibly made this more contrived.
How happy are folks switching to Geico? Happier than the Golden Eagles receiving a $20MM posting fee randomly amortized over four years.
Adding insult to injury: we cut your posting fee…now we’re going to break it up into a structured payment schedule. Next, we’ll hear how the payments can be made in aluminum cans from the ballparks and stripped copper wiring out of the Astrodome.
I hope NPB charges MLB interest for not paying in one lump sum.
So where is the other 40% NM, I see from the link its in the 1st installment which is 50%
So where is the other 40% NM, I see from the link its in the 1st installment which is 50%
I haven’t read all the comments here so forgive me if I’m am repeating some. 10% of a $20MM posting fee is NOT $10MM.
“10 percent of posting fee due within 14 days of the submission of the posted player’s contract (for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, that would mean $10MM on Feb. 7)”.
I was looking at the math and something does not make sense the first payment is 10% ($10 MM for Rakuten) I believe you meant 50% of $20 MM ($10 MM). Then 17% 17% 16%
On the proof reading front….that initial percentage should be 50%, not 10%
24-0 with a 1.27 ERA. You can bet that his contract will reach 7 years and at least 150 000 000.