Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Officially posted for MLB teams

Yamamoto was officially posted Monday by the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball and will be eligible to begin negotiating with MLB teams Tuesday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

MLB teams will have 45 days to agree to a contract with the Japanese right-hander, so the latest he can sign would be Jan. 4. All indications seem to be that Yamamoto will be able to come to terms on an agreement much quicker than 45 days, however. Yamamoto is expected to garner a contract north of $200 million, and the team he signs with will also have to pay a posting fee to Orix.