Ken Rosenthal tweeted this morning that stud pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will not be posted, meaning that he'll be pitching in Japan until at least the 2014 offseason and MLB teams will not be able to bid on him until then.
I guess if the Astros can't get him, the next best thing is nobody getting him. I now wonder if it means the Rangers will be back in on Shin-Soo Choo...
UPDATE: Jon Heyman says there is not official word about Rakuten posting Tanaka. They're not happy about the $20m posting cap, though...
UPDATED UPDATE: Phil Rogers says that the decision on Tanaka's posting hinges on whether or not he'll take a contract from Rakuten. If he refuses Rakuten's contract offer, he'll be posted.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
