Report: Otani's representatives to meet with MLBPA

The tireless efforts to get Japanese sensation Shohei Otani to the big leagues next season has now reached the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Otani's newly chosen representation, Creative Artists Agency, will meet with the MLBPA in the coming days to discuss issues concerning him being blocked from signing a major-league deal because of an expired posting agreement deal between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball, according to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi, citing a source.

Information gathered by Otani and his representatives in the meeting will be passed from the players association to MLB officials involved in negotiating of a new transfer system.

MLB and NPB have apparently reached a tentative compromise to grandfather in the old posting system for one more year, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but a source told him nothing is finalized.

If the old posting system is agreed upon, any MLB team interested in a posted Japanese player could offer $20 million for negotiating rights - although only the team that actually signs the player (if there's more than one bid) would have to pay his former Japanese squad.

The 23-year-old Otani has expressed an interest in coming overseas to play in the majors - and because of his ability to both pitch and hit - has been intriguing to teams, with many big-league scouts attending his starts in Japan.

Otani appeared in 65 games for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2017, hitting .332/.403/.540. He also pitched to a 3-2 record with a 3.20 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in five starts.