MLB & NPB Discussing Changes To Posting System

Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball are discussing "significant changes" to the posting system according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. The posting system has been in place since 1998 and is a vehicle for Japanese players to come to MLB before qualifying for international free agency.

Passan says MLB is pushing NPB to replace the current blind bidding process with a traditional open auction, which would likely result in lower posting fees and therefore less money for the Japanese clubs. Both MLB and the players' union want to see higher percentage of the total cost (posting fee plus contract) go to the player.

Kyuji Fujikawa is the most prominent Japanese player expected to come over to MLB this offseason, but he is a true free agent. No players from Japan — left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is from South Korea and is still negotiating with the Dodgers — are expected to be posted this winter. Passan says MLB hopes to have a new policy implemented following the 2013 season.