ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays have had “big” discussions about what enticing things they could offer Roki Sasaki, the Japanese pitcher who is the hottest prospect on the international free agent market.
But one thing they couldn’t provide was their plans for the future, given the uncertainty of their stadium situation – both with Tropicana Field and the new facility planned in St. Petersburg – due to damage caused by Hurricane Milton.
And that may have been a big factor in ending their chances.
The Rays held encouraging discussions to some extent with Sasaki’s representatives — who would soon be choosing between the runner-up Blue Jays, Dodgers and Padres — but did not accede to the small number of teams that were able to meet the 23-year-old. considered a future ace.
“We have a good relationship with Roki’s agent (Joel Wolfe), and Roki is a very big fan of (pitching coach) Kyle Snyder,” Rays director of international scouting Steve Miller said Wednesday. “I know the conversations with (manager Kevin) Cash and Kyle and (president of baseball operations) Erik (Neander) went well.
“I think the hurricane put us in a very difficult situation. Losing the Too, not knowing where we’re going to be, put us in a difficult situation with Roki. But I think (Sasaki) really enjoyed the conversations they had here.
Until stadiums became an issue, the Rays thought they had a good chance of signing Sasaki, given his preferences for an organization that excels in pitcher development with a well-respected staff, one that has a history of success on the land and is based in a smaller and less pressured market.
They sent a full pitch package to Sasaki’s representatives, including a video detailing who they are and what they do. They had the advantage of following a similar process with Wolfe by signing Japanese outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo in December 2019.
The Rays were able to compete financially, as Sasaki is subject to international free agent restrictions. This means he receives a reasonable signing bonus (potentially in the range of $5 million) and signs a minor league contract. Once he made it to the majors, he was under team control for six years, with his first three seasons being near minimum salary and the next three being determined by arbitration.
The signing bonus is limited to the money a team has in its international signing pool (the Rays had a co-MLB high of $7,555,500), with up to 60% more being able to be added via transactions.
As a result, some teams vying for Sasaki reportedly tried to save money for him by telling prospects with whom they had deals that they were free to sign elsewhere.
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Miller said the Rays focused more on the 12 prospects they had lined up than on Sasaki.
“It was in the back of our minds, but we treated it like it was nothing,” Miller said. “If something were to happen, we would have made a decision then. But until something happened, we were aggressively trying to get this class up and running and were extremely happy that we ended up getting them.
“It would be great to have Roki, and there’s still a chance (until he signs elsewhere, with a January 23 deadline), so I’m still crossing my fingers. But we are really happy with the course that we were able to put together. And we were just told to continue business as usual.
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