If Shohei Otani, 23, wants to avoid Major League signing-bonus limitations, he'll have to wait two years to move from Japan to play in the United States.

As part of the collective bargaining agreement teams and players agreed to in November, the dividing line for international amateurs and professionals was changed from age 23 with five professional seasons to 25 with six seasons.

"Otani is a great player. We're always interested in having great players in Major League Baseball," Rob Manfred said. "From my perspective, I'm more concerned about having the right, durable system than whether a player comes this year or two years from now."

Otani likely would command more than the current record for a Japanese player, set by pitcher Masahiro Tanaka with a $155 million, seven-year deal from the New York Yankees before the 2014 season.

As of now, the most Otani could get this offseason would be a $3,535,000 signing bonus from Texas or $3.25 million from the Yankees.