TL;DR - Scouting Report
Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, 23, is now posted for MLB teams to sign. The Dodgers have made him a priority, and could offer $5.15M under international bonus pool rules. Deadline: Jan. 23.
Start the Rally: Tweet This Now!Let the madness begin surrounding Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who was officially posted Monday and will entertain MLB offers until his deadline to sign on Jan. 23.
Sasaki, 23, doesn’t necessarily prefer playing on the West Coast, according to Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, who says the fireballer has “never brought that (the West Coast) as an issue”. Wolfe also noted that there could potentially be a benefit to landing in a smaller market. Though, Sasaki could handle New York.
It’s been widely speculated that Sasaki is likely to land in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. A shift in focus by Andrew Friedman, team president of baseball operation, may mean that the Dodgers make Sasaki “a major priority”.
“I’ll never say again that I feel good about the depth, so the answer’s now always, I feel terrible about the depth.”
Andrew Friedman
“He’s (Roki Sasaki) someone that is obviously a major priority for us, and we’re going to do whatever we can, and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do the exact same thing.”
Andrew Friedman
Being that Sasaki is under 25 years old, he qualifies as an international amateur free agent under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, meaning he’s subject to international bonus pool money restrictions and comes with six years of club control.
Should Sasaki wait out the Jan. 23 deadline and elect to sign with the Dodgers, he could make $5,146,200, the team’s allotment.
Your Turn: Why do the Dodgers have the advantage in signing Roki Sasaki and bringing him to the MLB? Tell us below in the comments!
