Masahiro Tanaka, White Sox meet

— -- The Masahiro Tanaka free-agency tour has hit the United States, as the Japanese ace and his agent began meeting with teams on Thursday.

Tanaka and agent Casey Close have until a deadline of 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 24 to have a contract and physical completed with a team.

The right-hander went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in the Japanese League last season and is considered by many to be a top-of-the-rotation starter. The major league team that signs Tanaka, 25, will owe a $20 million posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles, his team in Japan.

One official estimated that more than one-third of major league teams are interested in Tanaka, who likely will garner a contract in the six-year, $100 million range. Among the interested teams are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros.

Tanaka met with White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams, general manager Rick Hahn and manager Robin Ventura Hisashi Iwakuma at the top of the rotation, the Mariners likely need more starting pitching to compete in the AL West, and Iwakuma and Tanaka were teammates with Rakuten.

Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com and Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com contributed to this report.