Padres See Chance for Highly Touted Roki Sasaki to Create ‘Legacy’ in San Diego
The Padres, with international bonus pool money to spend, are viewed as a favorite – but the Dodgers could snatch away the Japanese sensation.
Some major league teams left millions unspent from their 2024 international signing bonus pools in a year there was speculation Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki would be available.
The Padres, though, which have a $6.26 million pool next year, are viewed as a favorite for Sasaki along with the Dodgers.
The pitcher’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said he assumed Sasaki will “seriously consider” San Diego, where Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is on the roster and Hideo Nomo is a special adviser.
"Yu Darvish commands about as much respect as any Japanese-born player in the modern era."@JLEWFifty on why the #Padres would be a great fit for Roki Sasaki:#FightForTheFaithful
???? https://t.co/fGPbvbjGlC pic.twitter.com/eUJxoW0ndw— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 10, 2024
“I feel like the organization is in a really good place with Sasaki,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said at the winter meetings. “If there’s an open market competition to be had, I feel like we’re in a good spot for a multitude of reasons. One, we’re in San Diego. We sell out our ballpark every night. We have a very competitive ballclub. It’s a chance for him to come in and create a legacy for himself to help win the first World Series.”
Major League Baseball’s international amateur signing period runs from Jan. 15 to Dec. 15, and Sasaki was not posted until Dec. 8.
The 2025 signing period starts Jan. 15 and the 45-day window to reach a deal with the touted 23-year-old runs until Jan. 23, meaning he’ll sign within the 2025 period.
Mike Shildt was asked his thoughts on the Padres' pursuit of Roki Sasaki and how involved he expects Yu Darvish to be in recruiting Sasaki: pic.twitter.com/dGeLGWTzWp— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) December 10, 2024
The 2025 bonus pools range from $7.55 million for eight teams to $5.15 million for the Dodgers and San Francisco. The Dodgers are among the many teams interested in Sasaki.
“He’s 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,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said during last week’s winter meetings.
The Orioles left about $2.1 million unspent from their 2024 international signing bonus pool allotment and the Dodgers around $1.9 million.
The Braves, the Yankees and Rangers spent exactly their allotment. Teams are not allowed to go over; 14 teams had under $100,000 unspent.
Players born from Sept. 1, 2006, through Aug. 31, 2007, were eligible to sign. Bonuses of $10,000 and under didn’t count against a team’s allotment.
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