Dodgers, Padres call to acquire international bonus pool for Rocky Sasaki

Rookie Sasaki may be available for all teams to sign given that his age only makes him subject to international bonus pool money similar to when Shohei Ohtani went stateside in 2018, but reportedly cut preferred destinations over his top three — the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.

And with Sasaki close to making a final decision, the teams that remain in the hunt want to improve their chances of acquiring it however they could. To that end, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, “both the Dodgers and Padres have called teams about trading for the international bonus pool in hopes of increasing the amount.”

However, even teams that are not among Sasaki’s preferred destinations are looking to add to their available international bonus pool, making it difficult for the Dodgers and Padres to achieve their goal.

With the international signing window officially open, the clock is ticking for Sasaki’s suitors in terms of adding more money from the pool. The Dodgers will have an uphill battle, however, as they start with the lowest amount of cap money available on the international market ($5.1 million) compared to the nearly $6.3 million available for both the Padres and Blue Jays.

The rules stipulate that teams can only add up to 60 percent more bonus money to their pool; ultimately, the highest offer the Dodgers can make to Sasaki is worth around $8.2 million, while the Padres and Blue Jays can offer up to just over $10 million.

However, the The Dodgers should have the upper hand to have prominent Japanese stars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the roster, though the Padres also have Yu Darvish to help convince Sasaki.

The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays are vying for the services of Rocky Sasaki

Roki Sasaki is only 23 years old, which makes his potential as a top rotation starter even more appealing. Sasaki would also be under team control for six years, which would be quite a bargain for any MLB team if the Japanese sensation were to pass.

Some analysts believe that Sasaki could favor the prospect of signing with the team that he can be a bigger star instead of just floating in the background. This could signal that the Padres could be in the driver’s seat for his services, especially if they can add more international bonus pool.