In probably the worst-kept secret in baseball, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The news was announced via his Insta.
Sasaki will receive a signing bonus of $6.5 million, and his former team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, will get a posting fee of 25% of the signing bonus.
It is difficult with Western capitalist outlooks to understand the thinking behind Sasaki’s decision to leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by getting posted to MLB now and not in a couple of years.
At 25, he could have signed an eye-watering deal. Who knows how high the big clubs would have gone – $300 million, $400 million, half a billion? Sasaki’s compatriot and new Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a $325 million contract with the Dodgers 13 months ago.
Opportunities like this don’t come along frequently
Every MLB team wanted Sasaki. He is just 23 years old, with a 2.02 ERA in 69 starts in Japan, a triple-digit fastball and a devastating splitter. He has ace, top-of-the-rotation potential, and his marketability across MLB and in Asia is phenomenal.
Plus, he is low-cost and controllable for the next six years. Opportunities like this do not come along very frequently for MLB teams.
The deal was clinched on something other than money
The money involved – international signing bonus and minor league contract – is so small that every single MLB team could afford it. Even the Tampa Bay Rays.
Perhaps this is why Los Angeles winning the “sweepstakes” hurts other teams much more than when the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
It is one thing losing out to another team purely based on the financial offer, but it’s something else, something almost personal when your club gets spurned for non-monetary reasons.
From a neutrals’ perspective, it is quite refreshing to see a deal clinched on something other than money.
He was bound to go to the Dodgers
Rather than look in the mirror to analyse why they missed out on Sasaki, there will be a lot of MLB teams suggesting underhand tactics by the Dodgers.
In fact, Jim Bowden, former GM-turned-baseball insider, announced on Foul Territory confidence that the Commissioner’s Office will launch an investigation, perhaps seizing phone records, to establish whether the Dodgers made illegal approaches or even had an agreement in place before Sasaki’s posting was confirmed.
The other 29 teams can sulk, but in a situation where money is not the overriding factor – as is the case with some Japanese players moving to MLB – teams need to realise that their previous actions have consequences.
New York Yankees
The biggest baseball franchise in the world enjoyed the services of Juan Soto last year, but they let the superstar slip through their fingers during the offseason when he signed with the New York Mets. Maybe they need to step up their aspirations.
New York Mets
Admittedly, the Steve Cohen plaything is still a work-in-progress. They have unlimited funds to sign players like Juan Soto, but then they make the penny-pinching decision not to sign Pete Alonso. The first baseman has been with the Mets since he was drafted in 2016, and has hit 226 home runs with 131 wRC+ during his 800-odd games with New York. He is not perfect but the Mets are better with him, and surely loyalty counts for something? Moves like this get noticed.
And also, remember when the Mets were not willing to sign their first-round pick Kumar Rocker. In a world where the draft gives little to no leverage to prospects, the billionaire flexed his muscles.
Money can buy many things, but fortunately, you sometimes need something more than just money.
San Diego Padres
Apparently, they made it to the final three, but who knows if the Padres and Blue Jays were ever really in with a serious chance.
The Padres are chaotic on and off the field. With a Succession-like ownership drama dominating the landscape, the team has yet to make a significant offseason transaction.
On the field, they pull off epic deals but then revert to trying to cut costs. It feels like Luis Arraez was on the trade block since he arrived, and it is no secret that they have tried to move Jake Cronenworth‘s contract for a couple of years. And then you get the lack of ambition by cutting bait on Juan Soto – that elusive first World Series championship was a lot closer with Soto on San Diego’s roster rather than New York’s.
Boston Red Sox
It is difficult to think of a franchise whose stock has dropped so much in recent years. Over the last five years, all they have is a Netflix series and three bottom-place finishes in the AL East.
As if to demonstrate how dated the franchise’s ambitions are, the top three free agent contracts handed out by Boston are David Price (2015), Manny Ramirez (2000), and Carl Crawford (2010).
And don’t get me started on the Red Sox trading away Mookie Betts. Which serious team ever trades away one of the best players in the game? Yeah, I know I just said the same about the Padres and Juan Soto.
Atlanta Braves
If your franchise has a reputation for taking advantage of players with some of the most team-friendly contracts in the game, you can’t be bitter if you don’t make the shortlist.
The Braves is also the franchise that decided talisman Freddie Freeman was a poor choice for a new contract at the veteran age of 32. The first baseman has been worth 17.4 WAR in his three years with the Dodgers. Not bad for an old geezer.
Toronto Blue Jays
I don’t know why the Blue Jays were in the final three. I’m not sure whether they ever were a serious contender.
The inability to lock up franchise stalwarts – Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr. – and the failure to land big free agents, does not look good to a player wanting to win consistently in the next six years.
Philadelphia Phillies
The team has ambition, regularly competes, and is aggressive in the free agent market, but there is a near-complete lack of interactions with the Asian market.
Chicago Cubs
With payroll projected to be lower in 2025 than in 2016, it is tough to argue that the Cubs ownership is serious about becoming World Series contenders.
Houston Astros
I don’t want to bang on the same old drum (or trashcan), but a reputation for cheating is tough to shift and is a valid reason to have a poor opinion of the franchise.
I could waffle on about every other team, but you get the gist.
Remember that every time your club decides to sign a young superstar to a team-friendly deal, or to jettison a one-club player because a couple of million dollars can be saved, or check out of contention for a few seasons, or value everything purely in monetary terms, then don’t be surprised when the next Roki Sasaki avoids your team.
A mere 12 years ago, the Dodgers were a mess, but they have transformed into the most impressive MLB organisation. Whether you like or dislike them, you have to admit that they treat their players respectfully – Clayton Kershaw didn’t get dumped when age started to catch up with him – and they appreciate that they have to overpay when necessary to attract free agents. Plus, they happily pick up discarded superstars (Betts, Freeman), and they work hard to put an attractive product on the field.
Featured image of Roki Sasaki by Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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