Ohtani (ankle) will be available this winter after being posted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday, Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times reports.
Although this was one of the most expected announcements of the offseason, it is now official, and teams will be able to negotiate for the 23-year-old's services in the near future. At this point, it would be very surprising if Ohtani is not wearing an MLB uniform by the time spring training rolls around. He's coming off ankle surgery in October but is fully expected to be ready for spring training.