"When it comes to free agency, the most useful tool most players possess against clubs calculating how to crush their value is the ability to wait things out for the entire winter. In fact, Scott Boras has made this his signature move over the last decade and a half, stretching things into spring training and, in some cases, even the regular season. ( Remember the Stephen Drew saga?)"
"Both have been posted by their Japanese clubs, and both have official negotiating windows with MLB teams that will close soon. For Murakami, it's 5:00pm on Monday, December 22nd, and for Okamoto, it's 5:00pm on Sunday, January 4th. By those deadlines, each player will either have to sign with an MLB franchise, or end up back with their original clubs in Japan."
Waiting through the winter is the most effective leverage players have against clubs trying to depress market value, a tactic frequently used by Scott Boras to extend negotiations into spring training or the regular season. Two posted Japanese players, Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto, face closing MLB negotiating windows—Murakami at 5:00pm December 22 and Okamoto at 5:00pm January 4—that will force them to sign or return to their Japanese clubs. Both have primarily played third base in Japan but will likely see reduced time at the position in MLB. Their decisions will significantly affect the supply and demand dynamics for third basemen.
Read at Over the Monster
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