A development most expected was met with a handful of important questions from Padres fans.
Roki Sasaki is expected to sign in 2025. Why is that so important to San Diego?
Evan Drellich, senior baseball writer for The Athletic, reported Wednesday that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expects the 23-year-old righty to be part of next year's international class.
Rob Manfred says Roki Sasaki is expected to be part of the 2025 international signing class: "It looks like ... the signing there will happen in the new pool period"
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) November 20, 2024
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That matters to the Padres for one simple reason: they can't afford him in 2024. They have just $2,200 left to play with. The new signing period will begin Jan. 15, and at that point, every MLB team will have a fresh batch of international pool money. From that standpoint, it is a no-brainer for Sasaki to hold off until the new year.
The World Series winning Dodgers have the most money available to spend before Dec. 15. According to MLB.com their total is just above $2.5 million. That is a fraction of what teams will have in their international account for 2025.
Once Jan. 15 rolls around, Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller will be equipped with over $6.2 million to put towards international prospects. Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Giants will have the lowest amount ($5.1 million), while everyone else is somewhere between San Diego's total and $7.5 million.
All that to say, it is a fairly level playing field, which gives every club an opportunity to at least enter the conversation. San Diego is expected to be in the mix for his services.
Sasaki is viewed as a generational pitching prospect, who could generate the most hype for a Japanese player since Shohei Ohtani signed in 2017.
Baseball writer Kyle Glaser shared his insight on Sasaki's potential and the market for his services in last week's episode of On Friar.
