Anyone looking forward to Roki Sasaki’s decision will have to wait until 2025.
According to Evan Drelich of The Athletic, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has decided that the Japanese phenom will join next year’s international contract class, rather than the current international contract class, which ends on December 15th. He said he planned to do so.
The decision was widely expected, as waiting until 2025 would have significant financial benefits for both Sasaki and his current team, NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines.
Why it is important for Mr. Roki Sasaki to take up his post in 2025
The Marines announced last week that they would post Sasaki this off-season, but the timing of the post is important. If Sasaki had arrived before Dec. 1, he would have been part of the 2024 graduating class. This is because players have only 45 days to negotiate with teams after their arrival, and teams cannot sign players between December 15th and December 15th. January 15th.
Because Sasaki is under 23, he is not eligible for a contract like the one his compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed last year. Instead, he is limited to the international bonus pool, which is typically used to sign Latin American amateurs.
Many teams have already depleted these pools with contracts from earlier this year. The Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers have literally zero dollars left on their team in 2024, while the San Diego Padres, who are considered the frontrunners to sign Sasaki, have a total of $2,200 left on their team. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the advantage in acquiring Sasaki, as they have the most funds left in 2024 at $2.5 million, but Sasaki could more than double his earning power by waiting a few weeks.
The international bonus pool will reset at the start of the new contract period in 2025, with each team receiving between $5 million and $8 million. Sasaki could make more money if he waited, but that matters to the Marines because the posting fee they receive is 20% of the signing bonus.
To be honest, a difference of several million dollars probably won’t matter much to Sasaki. He definitely would have ignited nine-figure money by coming to the U.S. this offseason instead of two years from now, so it’s especially true that one team has hundreds of thousands of dollars more than another. His choice cannot be determined by whether he offers a certain amount of money or not. He’s already raised millions in support.
Rather, Sasaki’s decision will depend on which team he thinks will allow him to have the best career in MLB. That could mean which team is most likely to develop him into an ace, most likely to win the World Series, or which team can provide him with the most comfortable conditions in the locker room, community, etc. I don’t know. Any team would want to sign Sasaki, as he is a potential ace who can be acquired for the price of “a fifth starting pitcher for one year,” but ultimately it is up to the player himself.
Unfortunately, while there is little reason for Mr. Sasaki not to wait, others may become collateral damage.
Aki Sasaki’s 2025 post could hurt players who have never heard of it.
Remember how these international bonus pools were used to sign Latin American teenagers?
Well, that still holds true in 2025. That means there are players in the Dominican Republic and other countries who could have something to worry about.
The way the international contract system works is that players become amateur free agents if they turn 16 by September 1 of that year. After that, you will be eligible to sign with a team and officially start your professional career.
The reality of this system is far from these rules. Players may become free agents the year they turn 16, but their futures are often decided years in advance when their representatives make secret agreements to sign them with specific teams. Ru. If these agreements are finalized, the players will spend the remainder of their pre-free agency years in the team’s academy, learning the game under the tutelage of their future organization while awaiting a payday that will change their future. To call this an open secret is an understatement.
The problem is that those agreements are not binding. And if a team finds a better use for that money, such as the Japanese flamethrower who dominated the second-best league in the world, the team can pull out of his contract with little repercussions. can.
If the Dodgers, Padres, or another team were to use a majority or all of their bonus pool to sign Sasaki, many amateurs would likely lose out on pay. Finding another team would be difficult as these trades are often done in advance. The player’s choice is likely to be between paying far less than promised or waiting another year and hoping the money arrives this time.
That’s not Sasaki’s fault, but an unpleasant side effect of his foray into a flawed system.
