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For all Juan Soto’s well-reasoned discussionAnother superstar has officially hit the free agent market. And he’s much more financially viable for the Giants.
Last Saturday, the Chiba Lotte Marines announced they would begin signing 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki. Considered by many to be one of the best pitchers in the world, Sasaki will make his long-awaited MLB debut next season.
In four seasons with the Marines in NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball), Sasaki has a 2.10 ERA with 505 strikeouts in 394 2/3 innings. On April 10, 2022, Sasaki pitched a perfect game with 19 hits, setting an NPB record of 13 consecutive hits. During the World baseball classicSasaki shined with a triple-digit heat combination paired with a spinning splitter and a solid slider.
Sasaki took a step back last year, both in terms of Ding and production (2.35 ERA), and durability continues to be an issue. However, there are few players in this world who can claim to be more talented than The Monster of the Reiwa Era.
However, despite Sasaki’s value, almost any Major League Baseball team will be able to afford Sasaki due to the complexities of the NPB/MLB posting system. While the Giants are expected to cut payroll, according to a report from The Athletic, they should also have the financial wherewithal to sign Sasaki.
“During my five years in the Marines, many things didn’t go well, but I was always supported by my teammates, staff, management and fans, and I got this far by focusing solely on baseball,” Sasaki said in a statement released by the team on Social Media Platform. “I will do my best to overcome my smaller contract and become the best player in the world so that I have no regrets about my only baseball career and can live up to all expectations. who supported me this time.”
The Sasaki draw will serve as one of the first tests for Buster Posey. San Francisco’s new president of baseball operations. The Giants probably aren’t the top seed, but they’re not lacking in pitching.
Could Posey convince Sasaki to be the face of a legacy franchise and form a dynamic duo alongside Logan Webb? Perhaps Sasaki is excited about the idea of constantly competing against the likes of the Padres’ Yu Darvish or the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, all Samurai Japan teammates during the World Baseball Classic, rather than joining them. Oracle Park is a pitcher’s paradise, and Patrick Bailey, now the Owner of a golden gloveis arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball.
“I think we’re going to look at every option available to make our team the best it can be,” Posey said during Introductory Zoom from General Manager Zack Minasian.
If a player wants to move from the NPB to the MLB before he has nine years of professional experience, he must be “used” by his NPB team. For example, last year the Orix Buffaloes posted Yamamoto. In addition to signing Yamamoto to a 12-year contract worth $325 million, the Dodgers also paid the Buffaloes a postage fee of about $50 million. However, if a player wishes to leave the NPB before the age of 25, he is considered an international amateur free agent and is only eligible to sign a minor league contract in addition to a bonus paid from a team’s international bonus pool .
The deadline for NPB teams to send players is December 15th. After release, there is a 45-day window in which the player can negotiate with any team.
It is not yet clear whether Sasaki will be part of the 2024 or 2025 international amateur class. If he is part of the 2025 class, the bonuses would range from $5.1 million to $7.6 million. Due to the signings of Blake Snell and Matt Chapman last offseason, the Giants’ signing bonus is $5.1 million. Most teams have already used up most of the international bonus pool money for 2024, but if Sasaki signs after Jan. 15 – when the international signing period begins next year – teams will have more international bonus pool money available.
Sasaki’s decision is not unprecedented. In 2017, 23-year-old Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels for a $2.3 million signing bonus. Before signed with the Dodgers for $700 millionOhtani met the league minimum in his first three years before being eligible for arbitration for three years.
Ohtani’s situation was different from Sasaki’s as Ohtani was deployed under the previous posting agreement between the NPB and MLB. Under the old agreement, the Nippon Ham Fighters, Ohtani’s NPB team, guaranteed a postage fee of $20 million, the maximum allowed at the time. Under this new agreementMLB teams need now pay a percentage of the guaranteed value. Minor league contracts require MLB teams to pay NPB teams 25% of the signing bonus.
If Sasaki, who reportedly wanted to join last year, waited until he was 25, he would likely have a similar contract to Yamamoto. The Marines, in turn, would have received a significantly higher deployment rate. The move is not financially beneficial for the Marines, but General Manager Naoki Matsumoto said in a statement to staff: “After conducting a comprehensive assessment over the past five years, we have decided to respect your wishes.”
Since money is essentially not a factor, Sasaki’s decision is determined solely by his personal preferences. Does he want to team up with Ohtani and Yamamoto as the Dodgers try to win back-to-back titles? Does he want to play for the Padres alongside Darvish, his friend and mentor? What about a team like the Rays, who have a long history of pitching development?
