Although Japanese pro baseball hasn’t had a player enter spring training without a contract since 2011, two players, Lotte Marines pitcher Roki Sasaki and Rakuten Eagles outfielder Ryosuke Tatsumi are currently on track to end that run of offseason labor harmony.
Sasaki is embroiled in a saga about when and how he can leave the Marines and begin a career in MLB, something he apparently wants to do long before he turns 25, when such a move would be extremely lucrative for both him and the Lotte organization.
If you’re the Marines, and you were only able to sign Sasaki as an amateur on the condition that you permitted him to go at a time of his choosing, you have to let him go if he persists in his demand.
Continue reading G.G. Sato: ‘Sasaki should be flexible’