The Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants have been notified that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki will not be joining them.
At a press conference on Monday to introduce Justin Verlander, Giants general manager Zack Minasian declared that San Francisco was out of the running.
Those with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Sasaki had decided to cut out the Yankees and Rangers. Since Sasaki had not disclosed that he intended to sign elsewhere, they spoke on condition of anonymity. The Yankees’ YES Network was the first to report on the New York decision.
The Toronto Blue Jays are a potential suitor for the 23-year-old right-hander, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are said to be the front-runners.
Sasaki can sign with an MLB team during a window that begins at 9 a.m. EST on Wednesday and ends at 5 p.m. EST on January 23 in accordance with MLB’s international amateur signing regulations and the posting system between Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Sasaki is only eligible for a minor league deal that is subject to international signing bonus pools, which vary from $7,555,500 to $5,146,200, because he is under 25 and has not participated in six seasons of NPB competition. Teams may start making trades on Wednesday in order to boost their first signing bonus allocation by as much as 60%.
Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, has not made the teams being considered public. It has also been reported that Sasaki visited with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.
Sasaki can reach 100 mph with his fastball. In a season marred by shoulder inflammation, he went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings. During his four injury-shortened seasons with the Mariners, he has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA.
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