MLB And NPB Officially Announce New Posting Rules

The details have slowly been coming out on the new posting system over the past few weeks, but Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball made it official today with the announcement that an agreement has been reached and the new posting system will go into effect today and for the next 3 years.  The major details of the new posting system are:

• $20 million maximum bid limit, paid only if a team submitting it agrees to a deal with the player being posted.
• Negotiating rights for any MLB team who pays the maximum $20 million posting fee.
• 30-day window after the player is posted for all MLB teams to agree to submit the posting fee set by the NPB team and negotiate a new contract with the posted player.
• Fee payment for the winning MLB team to come in installments set by the NPB team.  NPB team has the right to set the posting fee for any player at any level they want up to the $20 million cap.

There's good and bad in this system for the Yankees, which doesn't detract from the fact that it was a complete screwjob to the Yankees by the have-nots in MLB.  It also won't mean much for them this offseason if the Rakuten Golden Eagles decide not to post Masahiro Tanaka.  He's their only real target for the rotation in this year's free agent class, and I highly doubt the team would be happy using a Phelps or a Warren in the rotation in place of Tanaka.  His club has all the power right now, and the last I read they were leaning towards not posting him and trying to convince him to stay for 1 more year.  If that happens, this new system won't mean much to the Yankees until the 2014 offseason.

Report: Yanks Prefer Internal Rotation Options Over Garza And Jimenez

The Yankees have been slow to act on the free agent market when it's come to their rotation so far this offseason.  They were able to bring Hiroki Kuroda back for another year, but he's just one piece to a puzzle that's still far from complete.  A new report earlier today makes it seem like one of those pieces might already be on the roster.

According to Bob Klapisch, the Yankees are not big fans of either Matt Garza or Ubaldo Jimenez and would lean towards filling one of their open rotation spots internally before signing either of those 2 top free agents.  This comes as a bit of a surprise after Brian Cashman's earlier "we need 400 innings" comment, which made it sound pretty clear that the Yankees were pursuing multiple starters.

Klapisch did add that the Yankees would still be quick to pounce on Masahiro Tanaka if and when he is posted.  But with no clear time table for that in place, they don't seem to be fond of stepping down to that next level of FA starters should Tanaka not be posted.  We already knew there was going to be a fatal 4-way for the final rotation spot, but if one of those competitors gets slotted into the 4th spot in the rotation, that leaves the back end incredibly weak.  While Garza and  Jimenez are no sure things themselves, I have to think they would be better full-time rotation options than David Phelps or Adam Warren.  We'll see how real this plan is if the Yanks don't end up with Tanaka.

Baseball Prospectus Releases Its 2013 Top 10 Yankee Prospects List

Last week it was Baseball America unveiling its top 10 Yankee prospects for 2013.  This week it's Baseball Prospectus.  They took the cover off their 2013 top 10 earlier today and there are some surprises at the top.  The entire write-up is for subscribers only, but here's how the list shakes out:

1) Gary Sanchez
2) Jose Ramirez
3) J.R. Murphy
4) Slade Heathcott
5) Tyler Austin
6) Mason Williams
7) Greg Bird
8) Eric Jagielo
9) Ian Clarkin
10) Aaron Judge

No surprise with Sanchez at the top again, and the love for J.R. Murphy after his strong 2013 season continues.  What really shocks me here is Jose Ramirez making it all the way to #2.  He showed flashes of brilliance again this season, starting with an impressive Major League Spring Training.  Once again, though, they were just flashes and he struggled to maintain consistency and his health.  I don't see how you can take a guy who pitched just 73.2 innings this season and has pitched fewer innings every year since becoming a pro in 2010 and rank him higher than guys like Murphy, Austin, and Williams, but that's just me.

P.S.- The AB4AR Top 30 is coming...