30 million just to negotiate with Matsuzaka? WTF?

[Karak567]

Who would honestly pay this just to negotiate with him? I can't imagine he's worth 30 mil + a 15 mil/yr salary.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6124634

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the most dominant pitcher in Japanese baseball for the past eight seasons, is heading to the major leagues.

"I feel very relieved today," Matsuzaka told a packed press conference. "I've wanted to go to the major leagues for a long time and am happy this day has finally come."

Matsuzaka was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA and 200 strikeouts this year in Japan, and he impressed many major league scouts last March during the World Baseball Classic, where he was selected MVP as Japan won the title.

The Seibu Lions said Matsuzaka's rights will be "posted," meaning that all 30 major league teams can bid on the 26-year-old right-hander. The team with the highest bid gains the right to attempt to sign the pitcher.

The Lions reportedly plan to seek $30 million from a major league team just for rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. That's not including the $13-15 million annual salary he'll likely earn.

Matsuzaka has selected Scott Boras to represent him in negotiations with major league teams.

"I'm not sure which team I will end up playing for," Matsuzaka said. "I know there are several teams that are interested and I'll go with the one that most appropriately evaluates my ability."

The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners have shown interest in Matsuzaka. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets could also be in the running.