This scout, who has been around the game for decades, sees Otani taking the ball every fifth day in the majors. “I have seen him do both, but I believe that he would be more valuable on the mound because No. 1 and No. 2 starters are just not that easy to find when you are talking about championship-caliber ones.”
Now that Otani has established that he has the goods, the talk on both sides of the Pacific is about a timetable for his departure. “I have no idea on a timetable,” the scout says. “That will be entirely up to the Fighters as to when they decide to post him, but I think most MLB teams are trying to build some type of history by getting some looks at him on a semi-regular basis just to be prepared and educated on his progress.”
The GM of the NPB team is certain that the Fighters have an arrangement set for Otani when he wants to go to the majors. “The general perception in the NPB community is that it is either spelled out in his contract or there is a gentleman’s agreement in place. Either way, the Fighters won’t stand in his way.”