REUTERS
November 7, 2021 at 17:30 JST
Hiroshima Carp outfielder Seiya Suzuki (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japanese star Seiya Suzuki will get the chance to sign with a Major League Baseball team before the 2022 season, MLB.com reported.
Suzuki, a right fielder, will be posted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball following the Japan Series later this month, per the report. Posting is the process by which teams in Japan make their players available to MLB teams.
The 27-year-old is a five-time All-Star in the Japanese league. In 131 games for the Carp in the 2021, he had 38 home runs and 88 RBIs with a career high in OPS (1.079). He played for Japan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Suzuki instantly is expected to become one of the most coveted free-agent outfielders, joining Starling Marte, Chris Taylor and Kris Bryant.
The deadline to post a player is Dec. 5, and MLB teams then have 30 days to negotiate a contract. Under rules agreed to between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball, the Carp would receive compensation equaling 20 percent of the first $25 million in guaranteed contract value, plus 17.5 percent of the next $25 million, plus 15 percent of any amount above $50 million, MLB.com said.
In 2012, the Texas Rangers paid a $51.7 million posting fee to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters when they signed Yu Darvish.
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