MLBPA grants 24-hour extension for MLB, NPB to work out posting agreement
Shohei Ohtani's potential future in North America will have to wait another day as the Major League Baseball Players Association announced a 24-hour extension to negotiate a new posting agreement between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball.
The deadline is now 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Both sides were said to be optimistic heading into the previous deadline despite failing to come to terms, a source told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. A gap remains as MLBPA proposed to shorten the posting window from Nov. 1 - Feb. 1 to Nov. 1 - Nov. 15, leading NPB to counter several times.
A separate hurdle involves NPB refusing to make the posting of a player irrevocable, meaning once an athlete transitions to the majors, he would then be unable to return to Japan once a contract is agreed upon, multiple sources told Jim Allen of Kyodo News.
If and when a new deal is reached, the 23-year-old Ohtani would be officially posted and able to negotiate a deal with major league teams.