This autumn's inaugural Premier 12 international tournament will likely be without any active major leaguers, a Major League Baseball executive suggested Wednesday.
Japanese fans hoping to see Ichiro Suzuki, Masahiro Tanaka or Norichika Aoki return to Japan's national team this November for the first time since the 2009 World Baseball Classic may be in for a disappointment unless the World Baseball Softball Confederation can quickly resolve some issues with Major League Baseball.
"As of today, no players under contract with MLB teams have been authorized to play in the Premier 12," Jim Small, MLB vice president for Asia and the Pacific, told Kyodo News. "We have not been included in the planning of the event to date and there are a number of unresolved issues.