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Roki Sasaki’s future uncertainty

On Saturday, the Lotte Marines announced they would post 23-year-old flame thrower Roki Sasaki two years before both he and the Pacific League club could really cash in through his transfer to MLB.

Last week, I heard the Marines were working on some conditions they would ask Sasaki to swear to in order to secure their blessing, but couldn’t really guess what those might be. They could not, for instance, ask him to kick back some of his first MLB salary, since that would contravene the NPB-MLB posting agreement. Perhaps they asked him to hire someone from Lotte to help in his transition? Who knows.

If you stay up to date with the various media reports, you might not be too surprised if Sasaki were to show up for a press conference wearing a Dodgers shirt and hat, so closely has he been linked to them. But Sunday morning, I heard from a source close to Sasaki, who informed me nothing is etched in stone.

A few people on Twitter attacked me when I reported that his ascension to Chavez Ravine is not a lead-pipe cinch, because it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, I suppose, and who the fuck am I to rock their Dodgers love boat fantasy.

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Roki Sasaki’s unprecedented situation

Roki Sasaki may be under contract with an MLB team next season, two years before he and the Lotte Marines are eligible to cash in on the riches that would be theirs if he moved as an international free agent, instead of as an international amateur, as defined by MLB’s collective bargaining agreement with its players union.

I have spoken to people with some knowledge of the situation, and have a good idea where the leak occurred that Sasaki will be posted. But I am not here to tell you that he will or he won’t. Even if the Marines agree to let him go, the final decision would be Sasaki’s, not his agent’s and not the sports marketing company that has a stake in him.

Instead, I want to explain how it might take place.

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