The 2025 international signing period begins on Jan. 15, and while most prospects have already verbally committed to signing with an organization, there is some uncertainty surrounding a few others.
Most notably, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki will be making the jump to the Majors and must choose a team between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23.
Several clubs remain in the mix for the right-hander, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have made him their top priority. So much so that top commitment Darrell Morel will now sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates instead of the Dodgers.
According to Francys Romero, another Dodgers commit in Orlando Patiño will return to the market and look to sign elsewhere:
Sources: The Dodgers have brought back to the market two of their highest bonuses for the upcoming 2024-25 international signing period: SS Darrell Morel (DR, $1.1M) and OF Orlando Patiño (VEN, $400K).
They currently have around $3.6M to bid for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 11, 2025
The Dodgers backing out of agreements with Morel and Patiño was necessary as they await Sasaki’s decision. The two were set to received a combined $1.5 million in bonuses from L.A.
The Dodgers are tied for the lowest international signing bonus pool with just over $5 million available to spend on players in the 2025 class. However, it isn’t clear how much of that has already been committed and what else they are working to change.
The teams that miss out on Sasaki will scramble to use the rest of their funds on remaining prospects. In the case of Morel, he actually benefited by receiving a bonus from the Pirates that is nearly twice as much than that the Dodgers had offered.
Dodgers among ‘half a dozen teams’ trying to sign Roki Sasaki
Sasaki has drawn interest from a slew of teams this offseason, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers, among others.
However, a recent report suggested that it would come as a surprise if Sasaki doesn’t sign with a West Coast team. The Dodgers and Padres have been mentioned as the two most likely landing spots for Sasaki.
While that may prove to be true, there are still at least six teams that believe they have a chance to sign Sasaki.
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