Roki Sasaki Chose Dodgers Despite Padres Offering to Pay Him Over $10 Million
The Los Angeles Dodgers have won yet another offseason.
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The prize-jewel of the pitching offseason, Roki Sasaki, finally made his long-awaited MLB decision and agreed to a deal with the Dodgers.
The Sasaki offseason has been unprecedented through his ‘unspecified homework assignment,’ international bonus pool restrictions, and now a huge offer turned down.
Usually, Los Angeles are the ones who are offering the most amount of money, but because of those international pool restrictions, they were only able to muster up around $6 million to offer the right-hander.
Even in offering that, the Dodgers still had to make a trade to part ways with Dylan Campbell, a fourth round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft with some potential. The 22-year-old slashed .251/.331/.372 with 10 home runs and 53 runs batted in his 115 games at High-A last year.
Los Angeles was financially at a disadvantage when it came to their attempts in signing Sasaki. The decision had to have come down to key conversations with current players, the winning culture in L.A, and the 23-year-old knowing how bright his future would be in Hollywood.
In terms of money, San Diego had the upper hand.
According to The Athletic, “The Padres told Sasaki’s group that they were prepared to trade to max out their bonus pool, according to a league source, and offer the Japanese pitcher the entire sum [of their bonus pool], a little more than $10 million.”
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The Toronto Blue Jays, the third of the finalists for Sasaki, also tried a similar tactic according to The Athletic. Not to the tune of $10 million, but “By Friday morning, the Blue Jays were still trying to maneuver and demonstrate their willingness to push forward, finalizing a trade with the Cleveland Guardians for $2 million in international bonus pool space.
“They did so even though the move required them to take on most of what’s left on Myles Straw’s contract, $11.8 million.”
The Dodgers were seemingly outbid and still walked away with a phenom pitcher to add to a loaded rotation. Last season, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA on his way to 129 strikeouts to only 32 walks in 111 innings pitched.
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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