Sasaki sweepstakes could be down to Jays, Dodgers after report says Padres are out
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The San Diego Padres are out on Roki Sasaki, according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR, leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays as the two presumptive finalists to sign the 23-year-old Japanese right-hander.
Romero adds the Padres will begin using their international bonus pool allotment on free agents Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez in the next few hours.
The Padres were one of three finalists to sign Sasaki along with the Dodgers and Blue Jays according to multiple reports from earlier in the week. A report from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Wednesday indicated the Padres and Dodgers were each looking to add international bonus pool money via trade, which would increase what they'd be able to offer Sasaki as a signing bonus under MLB's international free agent rules.
Toronto completed a deal with the Cleveland Guardians on Friday to acquire outfielder Myles Straw, cash considerations, and international signing bonus pool space for the 2025 period from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Straw's role has historically been as a pinch runner and defensive substitution, and he spent last season primarily in Triple A. Of greater interest in the deal is the acquisition of international signing bonus pool money.
As of Wednesday, the Blue Jays had $6,261,600 in their international pool, while the Dodgers were a bit behind at $5,146,200.
Teams are allowed to trade for up to 60 per cent of their international bonus pool, meaning Toronto could accumulate as much as $10,018,560 compared to Los Angeles' maximum total of $8,233,920.
Per TSN's Scott Mitchell, the Blue Jays received $2 million in bonus pool space.
Sasaki's posting ends next Thursday on Jan. 23, meaning he has to sign an MLB contract before then. His team in Japan, the Chiba Lotte Marines, posted him on Dec. 9, opening a 45-day window for him to reach an MLB agreement.
As Mitchell reports, the Blue Jays have still not been informed that a decision has been made by Sasaki.
Sasaki is the No. 2 ranked player on TSN's Top 75 MLB Free Agents list released in November. The 23-year-old went 10-5 last season for Chiba, recording a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings.