Shohei Ohtani Reportedly in Limbo Due to MLBPA Posting-Rule Objections

The Major League Baseball Players Association is reportedly holding up Shohei Ohtani's move to the United States after challenging the posting agreement between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball.       

On Wednesday, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reported the MLBPA retains "the right to approve—or reject—any foreign protocol agreement" and was not satisfied with the agreed-upon terms, which would have allowed Ohtani's Japanese club, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, to obtain a maximum posting fee of $20 million. 

However, Heyman reported "management people wonder if the bigger union concern is over that perceived inequity" and not the posting fee itself since Ohtani "is limited to a signing bonus of somewhere between $300,000 and $3.53 million."

Citing management sources, Heyman added there's a belief in some corners that the players union could be trying to "discourage" Ohtani from coming over now and instead delaying his MLB debut until 2020. 

Reason being, Ohtani wouldn't be subject to the arbitration-level salary scale that would start him out at a shade over $500,000. Instead, Ohtani could wait two years until he's 25 years old, avoid the arbitration process and conceivably sign a lucrative deal worth exponentially more.

Specifically, Heyman theorized the two-way stud "could cash in to the tune of $200 million or more."

If Ohtani remains intent on making his MLB debut in 2018, there are three teams that will be able to pay him the biggest signing bonuses.

According to the Associated Press (via the New York Times), the Texas Rangers can pay the maximum $3.535 million, while the New York Yankees ($3.250 million) and Minnesota Twins ($3.245 million) are the only others that have more than $3 million remaining in their international payment pool.

Last season with the Fighters, Ohtani slashed .332/.403/.540 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. He also went 3-2 as a pitcher with a 3.20 ERA and 1.263 WHIP.