Shohei Otani the Two-Way Player? That Scare Anyone Else?

The New York Yankees and all of Major League Baseball are simply salivating impatiently at the possibility of adding Shohei Otani to their rosters this offseason but at what cost? Don’t get me wrong I am driving the Otani fan club tour bus and I want the Yankees to do almost anything they have to in order to sign the 23-year old “Babe Ruth of Japan” but I would be lying if I said the thought of Otani potentially being a two-player player in the states didn’t scare the absolute crap out of me.

The Nippon Ham Fighters have agreed to post Otani this winter and the right-hander has selected Nez Balelo of CAA Sports to represent him so what am I so worried about? It certainly isn’t the potential $20 million posting fee nor is it the roughly $3.25 - $3.5 million in salary for six seasons of control of Otani but it is the fact that any team that signs him will potentially have to offer him the ability to not only pitch, but to hit as well in MLB. Now unless an American League team takes a huge risk and does that, the Yankees included, Otani is all but going to a National League team you would think. Now don’t get me wrong I would let him personally, and I think the Yankees will ultimately let him DH a few games a week when he isn’t pitching, but thoughts of Chein-Ming Wang rounding the bases in Interleague play and essentially destroying his heel and his career in the process are flowing fluidly through my head when I think about the possibility.

Otani has already hinted at wanting to hit at the Major League level including a quote this week from the USA Today where Otani said “there are still so many things I’m lacking, and I want to put myself in an environment where I can improve. Hopefully I can go to a club that suits my way of thinking.” Translation, I want to hit and pitch and if that’s not okay with you then let me know and I will go elsewhere. At least 15 teams will allow him to hit in some capacity with pitchers hitting for themselves in the National League so the Yankees will have to do something to set themselves apart. With international spending restrictions and such the way they are now the team cannot simply blow everyone and anyone out of the water, the team has to make promises they may not be entirely comfortable with including the possibility of having a two-way player.

Now let’s look at things and let’s look at the worst possible scenario, Otani gets hurt. The Yankees, again, would have six years of team control so losing Otani for a season would hurt, but it would not be the end of the world for either party. If Otani were hurt more seriously then the Yankees would merely be out a $20 million posting fee, which is a wash regardless, and less than $4 million in salary. The Yankees have wasted more on less. I’m not saying don’t sign Otani and promise him the world, do it 10 times out of 10, but I can’t say it doesn’t worry me just a tad.

Shohei Otani Hints He Wants to Get PAID After 2017

One thing that no one can ever say about me is that I don’t listen when other people talk to me so when Robert Casey of Bleeding Yankee Blue talks to me I always let it soak in. One thing that Mr. Casey taught me was to always be different, to be myself and to always look for the little “nugget” of information that gets passed over or otherwise overlooked by the rest of the Yankees blogosphere. That’s what I did this morning when I read this article from the Bleacher Report regarding Japan’s ace Shohei Otani and his intentions of coming to the United States after the 2017 season.

Shohei Otani, or more commonly known as “Japan’s Babe Ruth”, discussed this week in an interview his intentions of coming to the United States after the 2017 season and there was a little nugget of information in there that screams to me “I want to get paid.” Here is the exact quote from Otani and let’s see if you can pick out which line I’m talking about. I’ll even make it easy for you and bold it.  

"Personally, the new CBA rules do not mean much to me, and it is not going to stop me from going over to the States," Ohtani said. "The only thing that worries me is the other young players that might try to go overseas after me. I don't want to set the bar too low for them and have to get underpaid because of my decision."

Now one must remember that the Japanese people, by culture, are a very respectful and prideful group of people so I genuinely believe Otani when he says that he will consider not only himself, his friends and his family in his decision next season but that he will also hold the Japanese-born players behind him that follow him to the States in his heart when he makes this decision.

How did this come up? Well the Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a player under the age of 25 or with less than six professional seasons under their belt is considered to be an International Free Agent. This would make Otani subject to the IFA spending cap rules which could cost him millions of dollars since it severely limits the pool of teams that could be interested. If Otani were to wait until after the 2019 season he would be a true free agent and could sign with any team for basically any amount of money but Otani seems inclined to forego the wait and sign with a big league club before the 2018 season, just in time for a few key Yankees pitchers to hit free agency and just in time for a literal boatload of money to come off the books.

According to the new CBA if Otani decides to jump ship from Japan to the United States he can only sign for $5 million. This would widen his pool of teams to choose from to whatever number it is now that you want to speculate, mine would be no more than six-or-seven teams given the presumed price tag, to all 30 MLB teams. In this day and age $5 million is almost literally nothing, for a hitter or for a pitcher and Otani can do both exceptionally well.

So Otani has a big decision ahead of him. Does he leave Japan after the 2017 season and possibly leave millions on the table to pursue his ultimate dream or does he wait out two more seasons and go for broke? That only he can answer but I have a feeling that all 30 MLB teams are hoping it’s the former and not the latter. I leave you with this, his 2016 stats from Japan, and a dream of Otani wearing your favorite team’s jersey in 2018. I mean it will just be a dream since he will be wearing Yankees pinstripes but still, everyone needs a dream. Have a great day everyone.

As a pitcher: 10-4, 1.86 ERA, 140 innings, 11.2 SO/9

As a hitter: .322/.416/.588, 22 HR, 67 RBI

Masahiro Tanaka and Shohei Otani Working Out Together Can’t Be a Bad Thing

The New York Yankees dipped their toes back into Japanese waters a few offseasons back when the team signed Masahiro Tanaka to a monster free agent contract and the team will look to do so again if and whenever Shohei Otani is posted and/or hits free agency. So I guess you could say that the fact that Tanaka and Otani were seen working out together recently can’t really be a bad thing, can it?

Otani is just 22-years old and is currently playing both sides of the ball while in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters. Otani finished the 2016 season batting .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs and 67 RBI in just 323 at-bats while also pitching to a 10-4 record with a 1.86 ERA and 0.957 WHIP with 174 strikeouts in 140 innings pitched. Otani won the Pacific League MVP Award while leading his Ham Fighters to the Japan Series championship while also reaching his third consecutive All-Star Game leaving many to wonder if he would cash in on his successes with a trip to Major League Baseball but Otani will remain in Japan at least through the 2017 season. That doesn’t mean Otani can’t hang out with and work out with some MLB caliber pitching though.

Under the current agreement between MLB and Japan a player under the age of 25 cannot receive anything over $6 million in the form of a signing bonus from a MLB club meaning it may be three years before we see the 22-year old posted. Otani is expected to receive at least $200 million when he hits the open market as either a pitcher with a pinch-hitting ability or as an outfielder who can pitch in a pinch.

Either way having Tanaka on the team, and this remains to be seen as Tanaka has an opt-out clause looming after the 2017 season, can’t hurt the Yankees chances in signing Otani. It’s going to be expensive either way but having a teammate like Tanaka may be what keeps Otani from going to a National League team where he can hit once every five days. It can’t hurt anyway. 

There’s Always Next Year w/ Shohei Otani

Chicago Cubs fans no longer have to say “there’s always next year” after their World Series victory in 2016, their first since the 1908 Fall Classic, but New York Yankees fans find themselves saying that once again when it comes to Japanese-born right-handed starting pitcher Shohei Otani. For a couple seasons now the talk has been whether the best pitcher in Japan would be coming to the Major Leagues and whether the New York Yankees, who are always starved for starting pitching, would sign him but once again the Yankees have to wait and hope for next year. Shohei Otani is not coming over to the Major Leagues before next season, again.

Otani is just 22-years old but has been talk around the Major Leagues for at least two-or-three offseasons now. Otani has shown loads of potential as a hitter, which is why he remains in Japan and which is why he may prefer to play for a National League team, but he has excelled as a pitcher which is what has drawn MLB teams to him despite not being eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season.

According to reports the Nippon Ham Fighters, Otani’s current team in the Japanese League, is willing to place Otani through the posting system whenever the right-hander is ready to head to the Major Leagues. Otani signed a $2.37 million deal for the 2017 season with the Fighters so I guess that dream is on hold for just one more season, at least.