Ohtani deadline extended by a day

The MLB Players Association has agreed to a 24-hour extension for a new posting agreement to be reached between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball.

The original deadline was 8 p.m. Monday night. The deadline is now 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Whenever the agreement is finalized, it is expected the posting fee for MLB clubs regarding the two-way Nippon-Ham Fighters star Shohei Ohtani will be $20 million.

So, get ready for a dose of Ohtani-to-the-Yankees chatter to start as soon as Ohtani is posted. The $20 million fee doesn’t count against MLB’s luxury-tax threshold.

The Rangers have the most international pool money at $3.535 million and the Yankees are second with $3.5 million. The Twins, third, have $3.245 million.

Every team in the majors can post the $20 million fee. When the posting process is complete, those teams have 30 days to negotiate with Ohtani, who is going to be represented by CAA.

The Yankees, whose general manager, Brian Cashman, went to Japan this summer to scout Ohtani, have been mum on what their plans are. This is viewed by many teams as a rare chance to get a high-end talent at a significant bargain.

Since Ohtani is under 25, he has to sign a minor league deal. If he is promoted to the big leagues in 2018 he would make about $545,000. If Ohtani remains in Japan and waits until he is 25, he could sign a long-term deal that some believe would be $100 million or better. However, many think Ohtani wants to test his skills at baseball’s highest level no matter what it costs him.

A $20 million posting fee was the way it was until the new collective bargaining agreement was signed, but the groups opted to keep the posting system intact for this offseason. Starting next year, the team posting and losing the player will get 15 percent of what the player signs for with MLB.

This past season — when he was limited to 65 games as a hitter and five on the mound due to lower leg problems — Ohtani hit .332 with a .942 OPS and went 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA. He is a career .286 hitter with a .859 OPS and is 42-15 with a 2.52 ERA in 85 games (82 starts).