Agent Scott Boras knows Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani made a choice, potentially sacrificing hundreds of millions by coming to Major League Baseball now instead of waiting two years to become a true free agent. He also knows MLB and the players’ union made a choice, limiting the earnings for a player such as Ohtani by agreeing to a hard cap on the signings of international amateurs under age 25.

Still, Boras expressed strong disappointment with the new system in an interview with The Athletic on Monday night, describing Ohtani, 23, as an innocent victim and warning that major-market clubs hold an advantage in signing him. In Boras’ view, those teams are in the best position to cut lucrative sponsorship deals, enabling the coveted pitcher/slugger to receive millions in endorsements and effectively circumvent baseball’s new international signing rules.

Once Ohtani is posted on Friday, major league teams will have 21 days to sign him. He will receive a contract of no more than $3.535 million under the new system and remain bound to his club for six years while his Japanese team, the Nippon Fighters, will get a $20 million posting fee in a one-year extension of the agreement between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Japanese clubs, except in rare instances, will receive considerably less in the new three-year deal that begins in 2018.

Boras, who was among the agents vying to represent Ohtani, only to lose out to Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), said Ohtani deserves a contract at least as rich as that of fellow Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who was two years older than Ohtani and arguably less valuable when he signed his seven-year, $155 million deal with the New York Yankees on Jan. 22, 2014.

“The union will tell you they do not want to bar a player from coming here as long as he is aware of his rights, Boras said. “The player will tell you his lifelong dream is to play in MLB. Underneath it all, his Japanese team took their interest to the forefront. They won the title a year ago and now Ohtani would have cost (approximately $5 million) in Japan. Most importantly they want $20 million now and don’t want the risk of him getting hurt and losing the money.

“Now the unsuspecting (2016 Pacific League MVP) no longer has the protection of his Japanese team or the MLB posting rules. He is precocious, greatness cast adrift, forced into the MLB lifeboat. And his admission is handcuffs that prevent him from getting at least what his older, lesser valued peers received—in Tanaka’s case, more than $150 million. Is this an international event or an international incident?”

Tony Clark, the head of the players’ union, declined comment. But Dan Halem, baseball’s chief legal officer, took exception with Boras’ portrayal of Ohtani, saying the player rejected offers to sign with major league clubs out of high school, instead joining the Fighters while knowing he could not become a free agent until after nine years of service in NPB. Halem added that Ohtani made the decision to come to MLB, not the Fighters, noting that Ohtani could have waited two years for free agency and entered the majors at 25, the same age Tanaka was when he signed with the Yankees.

Boras, however, pointed to the massive discrepancy between the Tanaka contract and expected Ohtani deal, saying, “Are we proud of this injustice? We use the player’s youthful desire to play in MLB as a justification for creating rules of injustice? We should have a far greater respect for the NPB and young Japanese players.”

Halem said the new system actually was designed to put international amateurs on a similar footing with domestic players. International players can now sign as unrestricted free agents at 25, enabling them to reach major league free agency at 31, the average age domestic players hit the open market.

Boras holds a different view, saying the new system runs counter to amateur draft and international rules that are designed to create competitive balance for losing clubs. He also sees a potential consequence of Ohtani receiving additional compensation through separately negotiated marketing agreements. Those agreements would not include direct payments to Ohtani from his major league club and not apply to the team’s luxury-tax payroll, enhancing the advantage for big-spending clubs, Boras said.

“This current process has circumvented the CBA parity requirement for entry-level players, created a payment mechanism to players that is outside CBA jurisdiction and review—endorsement contracts with team sponsors—and deprived the majority of the teams, outside major markets, from competitively serving as an option,” Boras said.

Halem did not dispute that Ohtani can cut his own marketing deals, and even alluded to the possibility that Ohtani’s choice of CAA might be tied to the agency’s success at negotiating such agreements. Teams, however, cannot dangle the possibility of Ohtani partnering with club sponsors as an enticement for him to sign, Halem said.

“Under our rules, a club is not permitted to induce Ohtani to sign by promising that club sponsors will enter endorsement agreements with him. Clubs were expressly informed of that,” Halem said. “However, like any other MLB player, Ohtani is permitted to negotiate endorsement agreements after he signs subject to (union) rules. One of the factors that players typically consider when choosing an agent is the agent’s track record in negotiating endorsement agreements for his clients.”

Boras, who negotiates his share of endorsement agreements for clients such as Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper, said his greatest concern was baseball’s treatment of Ohtani, and, by extension, the NPB.

“Ohtani is the greatest expression of the NPB and we need to honor that league’s contribution to the greatest league of all,” Boras said. “We need to protect this relationship and advance for generations the positive bridge that allows Japan’s greatest players—and especially the innocent youth—to want to leave their homes and family to advance to the MLB.

“If NPB players are ridiculed and taken advantage of—even with their consent—we have destroyed years of goodwill and respect the MLB once showed the NPB. This great league and its players—especially Ohtani—deserve better.”

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(Photo by Yutaka/AFLO/Icon Sportswire)