The Los Angeles Dodgers have won yet another offseason. The prize-jewel of the pitching offseason, Roki Sasaki, finally made his long-awaited MLB decision and agreed to a deal with the Dodgers.
Everyone is angry at the Dodgers for "throwing money" at top free agents.
So with Roki Sasaki, they couldn't.
The Dodgers actually had the least amount of money between every team in MLB to give Sasaki.
And yet, Sasaki chose the Dodgers.
What a testament to the organization. pic.twitter.com/QwIvd1JEtV
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) January 17, 2025
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.
According to sources, the Dodgers gained between $750,000 and $1M in international bonus pool money as part of the trade that sent Dylan Campbell to the Phillies.@kileymcd was the first to report the trade.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 18, 2025
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.”
“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.
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