Mike Salas
What is happening with Roki Sasaki? New reports are coming out of Japan that Chiba Lotte’s Ace, Roki Sasaki has declined a new offer from the Marines. In 2023 Sasaki made an announcement that he will be opting out of the players union. This is not uncommon for players who are entering free-agency and preparing to be posted for MLB, it is uncommon for a young player with only a few seasons playing in the NPB.
Sasaki hinted in December of 2023 that he would like to be posted early for the MLB. It is understandable with the signings of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga for big contracts in the MLB. Sasaki was trying to renegotiate his contract to add the “Ohtani clause” into it, and right now Lotte and Sasaki are struggled to get a one-year contract done before the start of the 2024 NPB spring training. If Lotte and Sasaki didn’t come to an agreement by February first of 2024, Sasaki would have participated in spring training at his own expense.
The news no-one is talking about: If Sasaki voluntarily retires, Lotte will still retain his rights for the next two years when he turns 25. This means he is unable to sign any were without the consent from the Chiba Lotte Marines.
How does international posting work?
Players who are classified as “professionals” a foreign-player must be at least 25-years old and have at least six seasons of experience in the NPB before they can become an oversees free agent. Yoshinobu Yamamoto met the requirements and signed as a free agent to a 12-year $325 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Players are posted from November first to December fifth, both the team and player must agree on the posting. An NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner of a posting, with the posting fee determined by the value of the contract that a posted player eventually signs with an MLB organization. Once the MLB Commissioner announces the posting, the player has 30 days to sign with an MLB team. Unlike the past system, in which only the team that won the bidding process had negotiating rights, the current system allows the posted player to negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the posting fee. If the player signs with an MLB team during the negotiating window, the signing team will pay the posting fee.
For players signed to MLB contracts, the posting fee is based on the amount of guaranteed money in the initial contract:
- 20% of the first $25 million
- 17.5% of the next $25 million
- 15% of any amount above $50 million
For players signed to minor-league contracts, the fee is a flat 25% of the contract’s value.
If Sasaki is not 25 years old and has played in NPB for at least six seasons, a deal for him would be counted toward the international bonus money restrictions. Under the new CBA, teams have at least $4.75 million to spend. Those with a Competitive Balance Round A receive $5.25 million and those with a Competitive Balance Round B pick receive $5.75 million. Bonus pool money can be traded up to a maximum of roughly $10.1 million, per MLB. With all that, you can see how difficult this will be for Chiba Lotte Marines to agree with Roki Sasaki on being posted early. The Marines will lose millions in posting fees if Roki Sasaki is posted at the end of the 2024 season.
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