"I will decide the team I will go to." "Precious Body" Rocky Sasaki eliminated Yankees and Texas in reverse interviews… Dodgers reduce San Diego to 'two-way race'?

"I will decide the team I will go to." "Precious Body" Rocky Sasaki eliminated Yankees and Texas in reverse interviews… Dodgers reduce San Diego to 'two-way race'?

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Japanese fastball pitcher Rocky Sasaki (23), who is entering the U.S. Major League through posting (closed competitive bidding), is narrowing his destination. Under the age of 25, he is not allowed to sign a large contract as he is classified as an international amateur rather than a general free agent (FA), but rather, such status restrictions seem to be returning to a situation where he can choose a team. Some teams are even eliminated through a reverse interview due to his "precious body."메이저사이트

U.S. media, including the Associated Press and MLB.COM, reported on the 14th (Korea time) that Sasaki has "notified failure" to the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Some media, including The Athletic, reported that the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets were also excluded from the candidate list.

The Associated Press reported, "The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres remain strong candidates, and the Toronto Blue Jays are also likely to be selected."

Sasaki is a pitcher who has received national attention in Japan for throwing a "light speed ball" of 163 kilometers per hour since his high school days. All clubs showed interest in him for professional advancement, and due to the fierce competition, four clubs (Hotkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Chiba Lotte Marines, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Saitama Seibu Lions) participated in the nomination, and Chiba Lotte, who won the lottery, embraced Sasaki.

The Chiba Lotte Marines raised Sasaki fondly. He never pitched in the first and second division games in the 2020 season, his debut season. He focused on correcting pitching form and release points, and only showed up for the first time in the 2021 season. He pitched in 11 games with the first team, recording 3 wins, 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.27, revealing his potential throughout Japan.

It was in the 2022 season that Sasaki started to eat the first division stage in earnest. On April 10, the third time he took the mound in this season, he garnered 19 strikeouts during nine innings against Orix, achieving a perfect game that does not allow on-base hits, walks, and errors. He was the youngest player (20 years and 157 days) in the history of the world's professional baseball, and he set a new world record by throwing 13 hitters away in a row.

In the 2023 season (7 wins, 4 losses, 1.78 in 91 innings in 15 games) and the 2024 season (10 wins, 5 losses, 2.35 in 111 innings in 18 games), he did not fill the regular innings, but he showed a powerful performance with fastballs and fork balls that exceeded 160 kilometers as long as he took the mound.

Sasaki, who played only four seasons as a professional player, asked his team Chiba Lotte Merins to allow him to enter the U.S. last year and is knocking on the MLB door after the season as he was eligible for posting with the club's approval. When Sasaki announced his entry into the U.S., MLB clubs with high noses are sending love calls. There are doubts that the body may not be able to overcome the powerful ball power that has never met the regular innings, but since the ball itself is so powerful, it is inevitable to jump into the recruitment race.

Sasaki is enjoying such a situation. He is notifying his team of "failure" to the team he does not like while meeting with team officials and watching "reverse interviews."

There is a reason why it is possible to have a reverse interview. Sasaki, who was born in November 2001 and is under the age of 25, is classified as an international amateur player rather than a free agent under the U.S.-Japan professional baseball agreement. As a result, Sasaki cannot sign a large contract and must sign a minor contract for rookie players within the international recruitment limit that each club holds. According to The Athletic, the international recruitment limit for each team ranges from a minimum of 5.15 million U.S. dollars to a maximum of 7.56 million dollars. He is also entitled to a salary limit of 760,000 dollars (1.1 billion won).

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered the Major League as a free agent over the age of 25, has signed a contract worth 325 million dollars for 12 years, the largest ever for a pitcher. In contrast, the recruitment battle is getting fiercer as Sasaki is much cheaper and can be held for six seasons to become a free agent once it is recruited. Several clubs are known to have created brochures and produced short film-quality videos to win Sasaki's heart.

Sasaki is known to prefer big market clubs that can sign long-term contracts in the future. Local media also reported that Sasaki is looking for a team that can play as the third or fourth starter, rather than the first or second starter. Sasaki pitched less than 130 innings every season under the protection of Chiba Lotte. Given that he has been thoroughly managed in recent years, it is interpreted that MLB also wants to follow his pitching schedule.

Some analysts say they want a team with Japanese players. This is why Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and San Diego, where "role model" Darvish Yu plays, are considered likely candidates.