More on Kenta Maeda, the posting system & release fee details

LOS ANGELES -- While we wait for the Dodgers to complete their deal for Kenta Maeda, there are several unknown variables. But there are some things we do know with about six days remaining for the Japanese right-handed pitcher to finalize his contract.

For one thing, unlike the relatively open-ended negotiations with free agent Hisashi Iwakuma that fizzled 11 days after a reported agreement in principle, Maeda has a hard deadline.

Per the terms of the revised posting agreement that Major League Baseball reached with Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in December 2013, the posting period lasts 30 days beginning with the day after the player was posted. In Maeda's case, he has until Friday,…