Shohei Ohtani (31) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who announced his entry into the Major League ahead of the 2018 season, has made an unprecedented move in the history of the Major League. Major League teams came to him and asked him to choose their own team. Some teams even had current and former stars of the team. The move was made to show Otani as best as possible.메이저사이트

It was related to Ohtani's unique status. Ohtani started to challenge for the Major League through the posting system (closed competitive bidding) with permission from his then Japanese team, the Nippon-Ham. It was not a big surprise as there have been several Japanese players' precedents up to this point. The problem is that Ohtani was still young before his 26th birthday. Ohtani, who was playing in the Japanese pro baseball, had to sign a contract as an international amateur in accordance with regulations.

International player contracts should be made within the limits of each club's bonus pool. It was different for each club depending on their performance, various regulations, and full-bonus deals, but it was about 6 million dollars that they had the most at the time. Ohtani was paid 6 million dollars at the most and had to endure the minimum salary in the Major League. Ohtani knew this, too. Rather than money, he helped him adapt to the Major League and sought out a team with the best circumstances.

As money was not the problem, small market teams were theoretically able to recruit Ohtani. So it was at the time that all-time recruitment was fought. Clubs scheduled presentations and tried to promote their team to Ohtani's advantage as much as possible. In the meantime, Ohtani ended the long contract process by holding hands of the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels promised to actively support Ohtani's dual pitching and hitting jobs, and reportedly won the hearts of them by explaining in detail how they would keep the promise.

The same thing is happening in January 2025. Right-hander Rocky Sasaki (24), who received approval from his team Chiba Lotte for posting after the last season, is the hero. Sasaki started to challenge for the Major League at a younger age than Ohtani, and is also a target of an international amateur contract. Like Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers), who is a senior member of the national team, if he entered the market after the age of 26, he is highly likely to sign a contract worth a total of 200 million to 300 million U.S. dollars. Major League teams have no choice but to pay attention to him because he can recruit such a player for a few million dollars full bonus and spend at least three years near the minimum salary before starting salary adjustment.

Although it takes injury time and a history of failing to play the regular innings, Major League clubs judge that it is not a big problem. Since he is still a young player, he can nurture it slowly. Rather, he is attracted by his strong fastball reaching 160 kilometers per hour, clear crystal ball, and still has growth potential. Major League clubs say Sasaki can immediately play his role as the third starter of the championship team and the lower-ranked team as a one-two punch. The recruitment match is bound to burn.

Many teams have already lined up to meet Sasaki, and they have finished their presentations separately. Currently, the leading destinations are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, two teams from New York (Yankees and Mets), the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers, the San Francisco Giants, and the Seattle Mariners. Sasaki has already nailed down that the size of the team's market and money are not big issues when it comes to contracts. Coincidentally, there are many Japanese players on the teams that want to be recruited, and unlike Ohtani, he even asked them not to come because it was burdensome.

It is highly likely that each club appealed their own ideas that Sasaki could settle in the Major League. It seems that they had creative discussions on how to manage it over the course of six years. Conditions of residence and others cannot be left out. One of the reasons Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Angels is that he is based in Southern California, which is favored by Japanese people.

The international amateur contract bonus pool will be reset on January 15 (16th Korean time), and Sasaki is expected to sign after the initialization. The posting period is set at 45 days, so we can't drag it out too much. In fact, if we had met this much, we might have decided on the team we wanted, and at least we would have gone to the final stage of compressing two or three teams. In other words, it is very likely that Sasaki will decide the final destination within this week.

Clubs are also making preparations. Sometimes, sparks fly to other places. The Los Angeles Dodgers had to verbally sign contracts with Darrell Morrell, a promising shortstop, and Orlando Patino, a promising outfield player in the first place. Since it is not possible to sign a contract with a 13- or 14-year-old player according to regulations, the Dodgers has to sign an contract verbally in advance and at an age when contracts can be made later. It is normal in the Major League. However, the Dodgers broke the contract with the two players. Morrell agreed to give him 1.1 million dollars and Patino 400,000 dollars, but analysts say that he wanted to secure maximum amount of money he could give to Sasaki. Dodgers has to save 400,000 dollars, too. Dodgers' total bonus of 5,146,200 dollars for 2025, which is relatively smaller than other teams.

The difference between $200 and $300,000 is not likely to be a big problem for Sasaki, but analysts say that the Dodgers are not willing to lose out to other teams at a time when they have to be treated with money. Even the Dodgers, which are emerging as the most likely candidates, are working hard like this. With the San Diego Padres, which are particularly quiet this offseason, and the New York Yankees, who have shown interest in Sasaki every time, also chasing after them, what choice will Sasaki make.