Reports: Masahiro Tanaka will not be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles

If Masahiro Tanaka is posted by his Japanese club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, he'll become the biggest free-agent on the market -- but that is still a big if.

According to the NY Times, Japanese reports are saying that Tanaka's club will not let him come to America to play in the MLB next season. Tanaka has already told the club that he wants to play in The States, but they are still doing everything they can to keep him.

Although the club has not announced any official decision, they have, reportedly, been trying to retain the big-time pitcher by doubling or even tripling his current $4 million salary to make him the highest paid Japanese player ever.

One Japanese report said the Tanaka is going to meet with the club on Friday, not to negotiate a new contract, but for the Golden Eagles owners to tell him that he will not be posted.

Before Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional League agreed to a new posting system, Tanaka was expected to bring the Golden Eagles at least $60 million in the posting fee alone.

But the new posting system that was officially announced this past week set a max posting bid of just $20 million, upsetting the Rakuten owners. To them, $20 million is not enough to let go of their best player.

Keeping him would help keep the club in championship contention next season as the defending league champions, and would assure that tickets sales don't go down.

Under his current deal, if Tanaka were to stay in Japan, he would not be eligible to be posted until after this upcoming season, forcing MLB teams to wait another year to get the pitcher they're looking for.

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