We are nearing the opening of the International Free Agency signing period, on January 15th. The Braves are reportedly set to sign one of the top prospects in the class, but the biggest story of the signing period is that Roki Sasaki will be able to sign with a team formally. Reportedly he has not made a decision yet, which will pose problems for teams hoping to sign him, as they will need to hold open space in their bonus pool for him. If the Braves are involved, look for them to delay finalizing deals with the free agents they are expected to sign until Sasaki informs them they are out of the running or makes a final decision. While there hasn’t been any reporting to the point, there are some reasons to believe that Atlanta could be desirable for Sasaki. Sasaki’s agent has indicated some interest in having a friendlier and less invasive media market, a team set up for short and long term success, and having a team with a good pitching development reputation, all of which fit Atlanta. Furthermore, Atlanta’s extensive history of handing out extensions to their young players must be appealing to a player in Sasaki’s financial situation, as his short term income is dramatically limited by the international free agency process, and Atlanta has been polled among the most desirable teams to play for among MLB players. I will be interested to see if Atlanta is involved in the Sasaki sweepstakes.
Braves News
We are really at the bottom of the barrel here, with no moves of note and not to the point of Spring Training news either.
MLB News
Players like Anthony Santander and Jack Flaherty are reportedly at the point of considering more short term, high AAV deals, which could be of interest to an Atlanta front office that has been fond of that type of deal.
Garrett Crochet has talked with the Red Sox about signing an extension, after the star lefty was traded to Boston from Sox to Sox earlier this offseason.
International Amateur Free Agent Darell Morel has flipped to sign with the Pirates, after initially agreeing on a deal with the Dodgers, as the Dodgers are holding open space in hopes of signing Roki Sasaki and Morel gets nearly double the bonus he was set to receive.
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