The Arizona Diamondbacks are serious contenders for major-league bound right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, Major League Baseball's official website said Tuesday.

The D-backs have clearly stated to Tanaka's agent, Casey Close, that they are prepared to post the $20 million posting fee required to make a bid for Tanaka. Whether they have the financial wherewithal to land the pitcher might be a different story.

Speculation is a team will need to offer Tanaka, who went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles last year, a contract of at least $100 million on top of the posting fee.

For the D-backs, spending that much on the Japanese ace "would be a financial stretch for the organization and might require them to trim some salary to make it work," the website points out.

Aside from Arizona, the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams that have expressed serious interest in bidding for Tanaka.