NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have been informed that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki will not sign with them, people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because Sasaki’s intention to sign elsewhere had not been announced. The decision regarding New York was first reported by the Yankees’ YES Network.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are considered the favorites to sign the 23-year-old right-hander, with the Toronto Blue Jays another possibility. All MLB teams were expected to have interest in the phenomenon.
Under MLB’s international amateur signing rules and the posting system between Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki can sign with an MLB team during a period beginning at 9 a.m. EST on Wednesday. and ends at 5 pm EST on January 23.
Because Sasaki is under 25 years old and has not played six seasons in the NPB, he is classified as an international amateur and limited to a minor league contract subject to international signing bonus funds, which range from $7,555,500 to $5,146,200. Starting Wednesday, teams will be able to make trades to increase their signing bonus allocation by up to 60% from their initial figure.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, has not publicly identified the teams under consideration. Sasaki also reportedly met with the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.
Sasaki’s fastball tops 100 mph. He went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings in a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He has a career record of 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA in four injury-shortened seasons with the Marines.
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AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Ronald Blum, Associated Press