And then you're talking tax fraud........
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Shohei Ohtani is actually a small town rural guy. So maybe the Reds can provide some housing on a tract of land in Kentucky? Who knows? The one thing I am certain of is that no one in the US press has any idea what is going on in this guys head.
Clearly the Reds are the obvious front runner for him.
I actually think the one possible advantage the Reds might have is if Ohtani WANTS to play defense. An AL team probably would use him at DH. But Reds have always seemed to discourage it.
Can the Reds get Shohei Ohtani?
Yes, although my answer presumes kidnapping is involved.
This is true. I tend to think that Japanese players will choose one of the coastal cities (which is why I make light of what Cincinnati may have to offer) because that's how America's portrayed, but it's interesting sometimes to look at the differences in the individual players. I had no idea of Yu Darvish's history, for instance. Sometimes I feel like I don't hear enough of the individual stories.
Maybe if we demonstrate with Hunter Greene that we're serious about letting guys play both ways, that would sway him?
International superstar Shohei Ohtani has been a force both on the mound and at the plate in five seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League.
Ohtani possesses one of the more unique and unprecedented skill sets among any player in baseball history, and during a news conference held in Tokyo on Saturday, the 23-year-old expressed his desire to discuss his future role with Major League Baseball teams pursuing his services this offseason.
"I don't know if I'll be given the chance to be able to do it, so first of all, I'll have to listen to what they say," Ohtani told reporters in regards to whether he will be a two-way player in MLB. "You can't go after something like that unless you're in the right circumstance. It's not just about what I want to do."
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/261421...hat-teams-ask/
Bribe him. Skyline Chili and Graetors Ice Cream. Blue Ash Chili will name a double decker sandwich after him.
International signing rule Q:
So the most the Reds can sign Ohtani for is $300k but the major league minimum is $507,500. I assume this means that the 300k max just applies to bonus. If so, what limitations are there on salary terms?
Has a team ever used a corporation to sign a player? And yes, I'm serious. OK Kroger, you pay him XX dollars in an endorsement gig, and you get reduced advertising for the next 5 years.
The Rangers can offer him the highest signing bonus, which is just less than $4M.
The limitations for salary are simple: He's treated like any other rookie. He makes the league minimum. Then he goes through arbitration. The theory running around is that he'll sign somewhere, then after a year or two, someone is going to sign him to an extension, essentially re-working his contract. Still, it'll probably look something like this: 1st two years, league minimum - extension kicks in - year 3 he gets $5M (he'll be super 2 eligible because he's never going to the minors), year 4, he'll get $10M, year 5 $15M, year 6 $20M, year 7 $30M. Something like that.
Major League Baseball, has been very adamant that they aren't going to let a team give him a signing bonus and immediately extend him to work around the signing rules. He'll have to play for a while before it will be "ok" to extend him. They also have been very adamant that if there's any way to prove that any team spoke to him about an extension before he signs with them, even if it's not to be signed for years, they will come down on that organization with fire.