The Los Angeles Dodgers remain in the running to sign Roki Sasaki before his Jan. 23 deadline, but their pursuit has resulted in losing other prospects who are part of the 2025 international signing period as well.
Most notably, verbal Dodgers commits Darrell Morel and Orlando Patiño backed off their respective pledges and began to negotiate with other teams as the international signing period is scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Morel is now poised to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and is in line to receive a larger bonus than he was going to receive from the Dodgers.
According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, Patiño is also receiving a bigger signing bonus and will join the Chicago White Sox:
Venezuelan outfielder Orlando Patiño, who had been set to sign with the Dodgers, is now planning to sign with the White Sox, Baseball America has learned. Patiño is expected to sign for $570,000, an increase from the $400,000 he was in line to get from the Dodgers prior to Sasaki’s posting.
Morel and Patiño set to received a combined $1.5 million in signing bonuses from the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are tied for the lowest 2025 international signing bonus pool with just $5,146,200 available to spend. They could add to that total via trade, but all teams are capped at adding a maximum of 60% of their original pool.
Moreover, international bonus pool money must be traded in $250,000 unless a team is dealing their entire total.
Dodgers losing international prospects
In addition to Morel and Patiño, the Dodgers may end up on the outside looking in with Teilon Serrano. He’s the top teenaged international free agent who was due to be part of the Dodgers’ 2025 class, and that still could come to fruition, but Serrano has removed mention of the team from his Instagram profile.
Of course, if the Dodgers ultimately end up signing Sasaki, it ultimately will all prove to be a moot point.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
