The Los Angeles Dodgers won the Rookie Sasaki sweepstakes. According to ESPN’s Alden González, the Los Angeles will pay Sasaki a $6.5 million signing bonus. Sasaki had the option of signing with any MLB team during the 2024 international bonus pool period, which ended on December 15, 2024; or during the 2025 period, which began on January 15, 2025. Had he elected the former, the Dodgers would have had the most international bonus pool money available: $2.5 million; with the Orioles the only other team with more than $2 million to spend. But, as was to be expected, Sasaki and his agent Joel Wolfe chose to delay his decision – and allow him more time to vet every team – and make himself available for in the 2025 pool.
The knock-on effect of this postponement was to allow teams in contention for Sasaki’s services to effectuate all sorts of transactions to free up bonus pool money that could be used to make their respective team more attractive to Sasaki (read: having the highest offer). In order to free up pool space, teams reneged on deals they previously negotiated (Note: This is not entirely accurate, as teams are not allowed to negotiate with these international amateurs prior to the opening of the window on January 15th, so there are no legal repercussions for going back on their literal word), and they also traded players in their systems in return for additional dollars, which is perfectly legal under the current MLB collective bargaining agreement.
Once Sasaki decided he would pick his team in January, the Dodgers were at a significant financial disadvantage. As the calendar flipped to 2025, they only had a little over $5 million available, tied for the smallest pool of any team. But, the Dodgers did not become the Dodgers by not understanding the system and learning how to work within it to improve their lot. Thus began a series of moves to collect more bonus pool dollars with the hope of having the most attractive offer to present to the Japanese sensation.
To begin, they let go of outfield prospect Teilon Serrano, a speedy outfielder from the Dominican Republic. He ultimately signed with the Minnesota Twins for $900,000.
Then they parted ways with shortstop Darrell Morel, who looked a lot like a young Corey Seager with his 6’4” / 180 pound frame and sweet swing from the left side. The Pittsburgh Pirates were happy to jump in and signed the Dominican to a $1.8 million bonus.
Next was Orlando Patiño, a 6’2” outfielder from Venezuela who had been scheduled to sign with the Dodgers for $400,000. When Los Angeles backed away, the Chicago White Sox slid in with a $570,000 offer to bring his right-handed bat into their system. On the one hand, Patiño got 43% more money; on the other hand, he went from the best organization in baseball to arguably the worst. However, the teenager has a long way to go before he tastes the fruits of the big league club, so this may be viewed as a boon to the young man.
To continue the purge, the Dodgers sent outfielder Dylan Campbell to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for bonus pool money. According to MLB Insider Francys Romero, the Dodgers received somewhere between $750,000 and $1 million as part of the deal.
Then, around the time Sasaki posted on Instagram that he was signing with the Dodgers, it was reported that Los Angeles traded minor league outfielder Arnaldo Lantigua to the Cincinnati Reds in return for even more bonus pool money.
When all of these transactions were completed, the Dodgers lost out on four outfielders and one infielder, and in return gave themselves about $7.5 million to spend in the international market. Signing Sasaki for $6.5 million gives them a little bit of cushion to sign a few more players to improve their farm system (which needs no improving), which they did in the moments and days after the inking Sasaki by signing Colombian infielder Luis Luna for $140,000, and the following players from Venezuelan: outfielder Degerson Diaz, right-handed pitcher Jose Villegas, and catchers Jhon Gil and Ezequiel Aparicio.
As per usual, the rich get richer. But, in this case, it wasn’t just about lavishing untold dollars on a player that other teams could not match. In this case, nearly every MLB team had the chance to sign Sasaki; each team had the financial wherewithal to sign Sasaki; each team had the ability to improve their financial position by making savvy moves leading up to the January 15th opening of the international signing period. The Dodgers once again proved to be best in class, both on and off the field.
And with Saturday’s announcement that Los Angeles landed reliever Tanner Scott on a four-year, $72 million deal, they have now acquired the three best pitchers available this off-season. Blake Snell came via a high-dollar free agent contract. Roki Sasaki came via a brilliant sales pitch built around the club’s player development department and via making sound moves to have ensure they had the requisite dollars available to woo the young flame-throwing pitcher.
Tanner Scott is the latest free agent to join the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. (Photo … [+]
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