The Central League champion Tokyo Yakult Swallows revealed Monday that they will make closer Tony Barnette available to major league teams through the posting system.
The Swallows are seeking a posting fee of $500,000. Any major league team that agrees to pay that fee to Yakult can negotiate with Barnette, who saved 41 games this season. The right-hander, who will turn 32 on Nov. 9, joined the Swallows in 2010 from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Should Barnette not reach a contract with a big league club, he will return to the Swallows.
Barnette, who has yet to pitch in the majors, would be the second foreign player to be posted. The first-ever player to be posted in 1999, Alejandro Quezada of the Hiroshima Carp, was also the last foreign player to go through the posting system.
