Major League Baseball prohibited its teams from paying market value for Japanese superstar Shohei Otani on Tuesday, according to a report in the U.S. media.
If the report is true, MLB's decision could encourage young Japanese stars to sign with big league clubs straight out of high school — as Otani nearly did.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, MLB told big league clubs that its newly agreed-upon hard cap of $5 million for overseas players under the age of 25 would not be modified for posted players.