There is a chance he joins Yuki Matsui and Darvish to try and compete against the Dodgers rather than join them. I give it a 50% chance he joins the Dodgers 25% Padres and 25% chance of a different team

i dont know if roki wants to join an aging darvish and a bullpen guy over shohei and yamamoto@@Dodgers-sw2uk

fr lol

@@abe8824 depends on his mindset. He might want to go against those guys as the lead guy for the Padres rather than join them and be the #2 or possibly even #3 guy

@@Dodgers-sw2ukRoki announced that his favorite team is the dodgers growing up a couple months back

same esp after they saw orix get over 51M in posting fees from LA for yamamoto. if there is no early posting agreement now, there def won’t be any time soon

AND SENGA

I think he will learn from Ohtani’s experience when he comes to MLB. Ohtani and Darvish are here to help him grow.

Agree. I understand how some fans excited to see Sasaki Roki playing in MLB soon. However, I think it's too early. He hasn't made enough contribution to the team nor has he established enough records in NPB, yet after just 2-3 years he's asking the team to post him? He knows he can only get minor contract. Sasaki might be ok with that, but what about the team? Somehow this scandal makes him look a bit selfish and maybe a little too overconfident. Notable players like Ichiro, Darvish, Ohtani etc have strong fanbase in Japan because they all contributed to their respective teams. Fans love and support them. Everyone including their teammates and opponents acknowledge them. Their NPB achievements and records over the years showed that they were more than qualified to go to MLB. In my opinion Sasaki hasn't reached that point yet. He has the potential tho. So he just need to take more time and add more evidence to back it up. I'm afraid if he forced his way out of NPB to MLB this or next year, he would ruin his image and relationship with his team

Yea. Even Japanese star players like Ichiro, Darvish and Ohtani etc had solid proofs before going to MLB. They stayed long enough for local fans to love and support them. On the other hand, because of this rumor, I see some people already criticizing Sasaki.

YANKEES OR RANGERS

I don't think money is a high priority for these guys. They actually wants to achieve great things in baseball, money is just a bonus for them.

@@helloman3676 that arm can go at any moment gotta wait for the right time. Can’t jus be rash about something that is so finite and with the number of arms going nowadays things ain’t guaranteed. Might as well protect the asset🤷🏾‍♂️ jus a thought

​@@MH-qq4eilove how you think you're being so insightful.

Problem is he has stated his favorite team growing up is the dodgers, somehow lol

Yeah but the padres kinda broke now

@@lokithecrusader Roki will not require a lot of money. Just international signing bonus and 700k a year

Yeah but he likely could require a large extension soon after signing with a team which the Padres may or may not be able to pay. :/ @@Dodgers-sw2uk

@@Dodgers-sw2ukI can see the dodgers edging out if they still maintain the current farm system as of today

Considering he’s not getting a lot of money. He might as well go to a team that will win him a championship.

Doesn’t he have an option like Sho to get out after each year if he wants?

@@robertaBooey69 That’s purely speculation tbh. He could have a clause where he’s guaranteed posting when he hits 25, or if he wins x or the team win the pennant or something. We just really don’t know, but I doubt the marines would’ve added a clause like that in the contract imo. It’s like a small market MLB team releasing their star so the Dodgers can get them for cheap. Not much incentive for the team

​@@robertaBooey69 It's not option normally given to any players. Ohtani was special case cuz he had offer to go to MLB straight out of high school. Nippon Ham added the clause and also gave Ohtani opportunity to play both pitcher and batter, all so he would sign with them.

True and also with the Nippon Baseball League rules i dont think the Lotte Marines have any incentive to trade him before 25🤔

True. I remember watching WBC 2023 documentary, there was a scene where Sasaki crying. I think it was when he was hit and lost 3 points during Japan vs Mexico game. He left the dugout (after pitching), went to the corner of backstage and just sitting there bawling his eyes, while the team still fighting out there. Not like crying is a bad thing. It's just I thought then that he still need to improve more mentally

@@chihayaayase1299 I watched that documentary and they highlighted that crying scene like it was a serious dramatic moment. Honestly, I feel like it just brought Roki Sasaki’s image down as a player. Especially towards MLB scouts.

@@kn2549 I think they used the footage because in Japan they love ‘seishun’ or youth story. After all, the documentary was made for the Japanese public. Tho in the west ppl perceive things a bit differently. More individualistic… Tho it doesn’t seem that stopped MLB interest in Sasaki. After all, his potential is real, and if he really wanna force his way out of NPB before turning 25, those MLB teams can get him for incredibly cheap price.

@@chihayaayase1299 Japanese media is obsessed with story telling/narratives. Its 感動ポルノ at its best.

Tanaka said otherwise through NHK

Ill give you a shock Hes gonna to to the Brewers or Mets

So then all teams would have a chance to compete financially to land him. West coast teams would have a monopoly due to location? In other words, the only way to ensure equality would be to not let players have freedom to choose which organization they want to play for. I've never liked that idea. Imagine a player being stuck with a team like the A's. The draft already lets the worst teams have the best picks in the draft. The poorest teams already have revenue sharing of $60m a season. Every team already has only limited money to sign international amateur talents. Every wealthy team already has draft penalties. What more do these teams want? Now they want to hog up the best international talent apart from the MLB draft talent?

@@solenstylemaybe my point wasn’t explained great. I think it’s clear that at this point, most international free agents coming from Japan or Korea prefer to play on the west coast due to proximity to home. The point I’m making is that the one qualifier that makes those players consider other parts of the US is that those teams might pay more when they’re posted (ex. Mets offering Yamamoto 325M to not sign with LA) If Sasaki and Ohtani set the trend that you can leave the NPB and KBO early so long as you’re willing to accept a rookie wage scale, the entire MLB can only operate under a rookie contract scale for these players which will ultimately drive them to the West Coast exclusively due to no team being able to offer more money as a detractor from those west coast teams. I think that’s a dangerous precedent that will limit the market on what has proven to be a great pipeline of talent coming from those countries

It's not good to lock Roki Sasaki in prison.

​@@user-fg2od6ij7y people wanting Sasaki to go to MLB now just wanna buy him at bargain price

There wouldn't be anything unethical about him not prioritizing making his employer as much money as possible. Ridiculous that you even try to frame it that way.

poverty team

@@MistaGrim don't be mad

@@herctheo9296 Nobody is mad, just pointing out the truth.

@@MistaGrim that the Yankees are poverty? Lmaoooooo ok

@@herctheo9296 Poverty hitters Volpe, Stanton, Cabrera, Bauers, Peraza, Rizzo, Lemahieu, etc....but, ok.