Efforts to bring two way Japanese player Shohei Otani to MLB hit a snag with the MLBPA:

One week after MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball worked out a “tentative agreement” on a $20 million posting system for Japanese two-way megastar Shohei Otani, the players union balked at the arrangement on Wednesday, meaning there remains a significant hurdle to be cleared before Otani makes his move from the Nippon Ham Fighters to the majors, FanRag Sports has learned.

MLB had been hoping to receive approval Wednesday for its one-year extension arrangement. But the players union has the right to approve – or reject – any foreign protocol agreement. And the union decided not to accept, and instead to counter.

Once again, universal free agency solves all these problems. NPB could sign US players to improve their teams. With a lack of expansion in the US and baseball more popular World Wide, there is an approaching glut of better players. Japan could use that excess to improve their league, as could South Korea and Taiwan. Just allow players to flow where the money takes them.

I hope this is a sign the union will push for younger players to be more fairly compensated in the future.

Hat tip, BBTF.