TORONTO — While most MLB teams signed top international amateurs Wednesday, the Blue Jays stayed quiet, hopeful that their patience will lead to a deal with the most promising prospect of them all.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Roki Sasaki hadn’t made a decision between the three finalists for his services, the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. But uncertainty over the 23-year-old right-hander’s next steps loomed large as the new international signing period opened, slowing things down for the finalists and creating opportunities for others.
The Dodgers have seemingly had three prospects walk away from agreed-upon deals, with Dominican shortstop Darell Morel, Venezuelan outfielder Oscar Patiño and Dominican outfielder Teilon Serrano now set to sign with the Pirates, White Sox and Twins, respectively, according to reports. Whether that exodus says anything about the Dodgers’ confidence levels in landing Sasaki, we can only guess.
Meanwhile, the Padres have been quiet and the Blue Jays have yet to announce a deal with Dominican shortstop Christopher Polanco, a highly regarded player who had been set to headline their class before Sasaki became available to MLB teams. Until Polanco and other Blue Jays recruits have formally signed, there’s at least some risk that another team could poach them away from Toronto’s farm system.
Interestingly enough, the Giants were most aggressive in acquiring international bonus pool money Wednesday. But where San Francisco added to their pool in separate deals with the Marlins and Red Sox, none of the three Sasaki finalists acquired additional international cap space of their own.
Some executives with knowledge of the International market predict Sasaki will make his decision first before giving the chosen team some time to acquire further bonus pool money (teams can increase the total value of their pools by 60 per cent). In the Blue Jays’ case, they could increase their allotment from $6,261,600 to $10,018,560.
Whether Sasaki would expect all that money is one of the many unknowns here, but he’d certainly get most of it, meaning the winning bidder for Sasaki will likely have to back out of some existing deals.
If money was the driving force behind Sasaki’s decisions, he would likely have delayed his arrival to MLB by two years until he turned 25, at which point he could sign without the restrictions imposed by international signing pools. But the pitcher’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, has said Sasaki’s goal is to be an all-time great who ends up in baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Still, a significant signing bonus would surely be part of any Blue Jays pitch to recruit Sasaki. Other selling points likely included: an initial video presentation; an in-person demonstration of the team’s newly renovated clubhouse, training and recovery facilities in Toronto; emphasis on the Blue Jays’ ability to develop pitchers like Robbie Ray, Steven Matz and Yusei Kikuchi at the MLB level; recruiting pitches from current Blue Jays staff and players and more.
Clearly, Sasaki’s intrigued by the Blue Jays’ pitch as they’re the lone team outside of Southern California remaining. Now he makes the biggest decision of his life — one that should have a massive, positive impact on whichever team he selects between now and Jan. 23.
