Rocky Sasaki decides between Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays

Japanese free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki could be close to a decision. 23 year old the phenomenon narrowed it down that the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jaysaccording to Jeff Pasano of ESPN.

Pasan adds that Sasaki will make a decision by the January 23 publication deadline.

While Sasaki won’t officially sign until the MLB international signing period opens on January 15th at the earliest, news has begun to trickle out about which teams are out of the race for right-wing services. The New York Post’s John Heyman reported on Monday both New York teams — Mets and Yankees — are officially out. There were also reports that Sasaki decided against signing with the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.

Whoever ends up with Sasaki could potentially have an offseason deal. Despite Sasaki having ace-level stuff and an NPB record to match, teams can only offer him money from their international bonus pools, meaning he can’t be signed at the level of other Japanese players like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Sasaki won’t be able to make big money until he hits free agency a few years later.

Depending on the team, that means Sasaki’s maximum salary next year will be around $7.5 million. That helped level the playing field for teams struggling against the big-spending Dodgers who might just outscore their competition. LA has the advantage of the defending World Series champions on its side — as well as a stacked roster that is fully capable of repeating. But The Padres have Yu DarvishSasaki’s mentor, already on staff.

As for the Blue Jaystheir window to contend is closing quickly with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Beau Bichette set to hit free agency, so Toronto needs to be as aggressive as others.

When Sasaki signs, it will leave Jack Flaherty as the best remaining starting pitcher on the board. After him, the talent level drops significantly, giving any team looking to bolster their rotations a sense of urgency.

Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A lifelong baseball and basketball player, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next and more. He graduated from NIU in 2012 and still returns to serve as the announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.