Major League Baseball and its Japanese counterparts have reached a tentative understanding to grandfather the now-expired posting system for one more year, clearing yet another hurdle to facilitate Shohei Otani coming to an MLB team this offseason.

However, a person involved in the negotiations cautioned that nothing is finalized, and the agreement can still be amended. More importantly, as of early Wednesday afternoon, the Players Association had not been even notified that an accord was in place.

“I expect we will reach some sort of agreement with NPB,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at a dinner benefiting Joe Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation. “What Mr. Otani decides to do, you’re gonna have to talk to him about that.”

The union — via its rights in the collective bargaining agreement — can nix any transfer accord between MLB and a country such as Japan, Cuba or Mexico. And the union has been concerned about a player’s previous foreign team receiving a far greater sum than the player would get to enter MLB, which would be the case with Otani if the old posting system were renewed for one more year.

Nevertheless, now that Otani took on a union-certified representative earlier this week – CAA – the Players Association can be confident that the player will know the union’s concerns and all of his options. Therefore, an expectation lingers that a pact will be finalized at some point in the near future that will permit Otani to become the most sought-after free agent of this offseason.

Under the agreement, which expired Oct. 31, any MLB team interested in a posted Japanese player could offer up to $20 million for the right to negotiate with that player, and every team that reached the same maximum bid would be allowed to bargain with the player, with only the team that signed the player transferring the sum bid to the Japanese club.

In Otani’s case, many teams, such as the Yankees, would bid the maximum $20 million to have a shot. However, also via the current CBA, because the 23-year-old Otani is under 25, he would be subject to international signing pools and must sign a minor league contract. Teams currently have anywhere from $10,000 to offer Otani to the $3.535 million of the Rangers, according to figures reported by the Associated Press.

The Yankees, who badly want the ace/slugger, have the second most to spend at $3.25 million. The Mets have $105,000. The Cubs, Dodgers and Giants — all expected to be eager pursuers — have just $300,000 each to offer.

Because there is such a strict limit on how much Otani can be paid – and that he is willing to come now rather than wait two years, turn 25 and have no restrictions and (health permitted) perhaps get $200 million or more — indicates what a true recruiting free agency this would be, with teams trying to sell why they are the best landing spot regardless of how much Otani could be immediately paid.

MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball had been near an agreement last month whereby the Japanese team would receive a percentage of the contract a player signed for in MLB — believed to be between 15 and 20 percent.

It is believed for players 25 and over that would be 15 percent, so if a Japanese player signed, say, a $100 million deal with an MLB team, his Japanese team would receive an additional $15 million.

However, Otani’s team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, refused to give its necessary vote to ratify that deal unless Otani was made a special case and grandfathered into the old system because if, say, the righty pitcher signed for $300,000 with the Dodgers, the Fighters would only get 20 percent, or $60,000, which Nippon-Ham viewed as inadequate for a player of this skill.

MLB was willing to make a one-time exception of Otani to be posted under the old system. But the union would not give its blessing, at least at the point when Otani had not yet picked a certified agent.