The San Diego Padres are reportedly no longer in the running to acquire Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki this offseason.
Padres make outside moves which kill Roki Sasaki chances
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Padres have made ancillary agreements with two international stars that diminish their international signing bonus funds, effectively rendering Sasaki virtually unattainable:
“From multiple sources, Francys [Romero] reporting that the Padres are out on Sasaki, and that the telltale sign of this is that they are prepared to now begin their international signings of other parts of their international budget. Of course, we all know there’s a hard cap on this. So they’re prepared to now sign Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez” Morosi said on “Hot Stove.”
“Again, the Padres have not released a formal statement at this hour saying that they are out, but the reporting of Francys Romero indicating that other moves they are making would preclude them from signing Sasaki under the same international signing bonus cap.”
Padres don’t believe they have a shot at Sasaki anymore
MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams gave more clarity into how much both De La Cruz and Alvarez will take home from joining San Diego’s ranks this year:
“Alvarez will receive a signing bonus worth around $1MM, per Romero. De La Cruz’s bonus isn’t yet known, but Romero previously suggested he and the Padres had an agreement in the $2MM range. Baseball America’s Ben Badler had previously pegged De La Cruz between $1MM and $1.5MM. The broader takeaway here, however, is Romero tweeting that multiple sources have indicated the Padres believe they’re now out of the running for star Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki,” Adams wrote.
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Dodgers & Blue Jays will now vie to land Sasaki
Sasaki had narrowed his search down to the Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. Though the Dodgers got the last meeting with the 23-year-old prior to him weighing all of his options, the Padres also had a second sit-down with their marquee free-agent target.
Nevertheless, San Diego’s two new international signings will take anywhere from $2-$3 million away from their bonus pool money, which was sitting at $6.3 million. That would bring them down to as low as roughly $3.3 million, which Los Angeles would likely be able to beat out in conjunction with their attractive sell as defending World Series champions and first-class organization. Sasaki now has until Jan. 23 to make his decision between L.A. and Toronto.
