"Refusing Chiba Lotte's offer." Friction that started again? You said you'd let me go...Japan's entry into the perfect monster ML 'Promptures of Delaying'
"Refusing Chiba Lotte's offer." Friction that started again? You said you'd let me go...Japan's entry into the perfect monster ML 'Promptures of Delaying'
Blog Article
Will the "perfect monster" Roki Sasaki's advance to the Major League be postponed again? For now, Sasaki has rejected Chiba Lotte Marines' offer.
Francis Romero, a member of the National Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA), cited a source on the 4th (Korea time) and said, "Sasaki Rocky rejected Chiba Lotte Marines' proposal for the 2025 season."
Sasaki, who received attention from Major League clubs by spraying fastballs over 160 kilometers since his high school days, was amazing in achieving a perfect game in 2022. Sasaki succeeded in making his name known to the world, and since then, the interest of Major League scouts has grown out of control. And Sasaki's value has risen vertically since he helped Japan win the World Baseball Classic last year.
On the contrary, however, Sasaki's image declined. As Sasaki announced her intention to play in the Major League after the end of the 2023 season, reports suggested that Chiba Lotte is facing difficulties in negotiating the salary for the 2024 season. Under-25 players are classified as "international amateur players" and cannot sign a contract for the Major League. In other words, players who have recently moved from Asia to the Major League cannot sign contracts worth tens of millions of dollars or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Chiba Lotte could not allow Sasaki to play in the Major League without any "practice" other than taking care of the image of supporting Sasaki's dream. In the end, when the start of the spring camp was just around the corner, Sasaki decided to give up his dream of playing in the Major League for a while and play for Chiba Lotte in the 2024 season. However, he did not completely bend his will to the big leagues, and Sasaki aimed for "full time" with many meanings.
As a result, Sasaki did not play the full-time season once again. He was away from the first team twice due to injury. However, Sasaki enjoyed the joy of winning his first double-digit victory this year with 10 wins, 5 losses and 2.35 ERA in 18 appearances. Notably, in the last regular-season game, he pitched a complete game in front of LA Dodgers President Andrew Friedman to confirm Chiba Lotte's advance to the post season, and also showed off its true value in the fall stage.
Was he impressed by Sasaki's performance at the end of the season? Chiba Lotte made an unusual statement right after the end of its postseason schedule. It was about Sasaki. "As I said last year, I have been having conversations with Sasaki (about the Major League) every year since I joined the team. This will not change this year, and I will talk about it," said Naoki Matsumoto.
Matsumoto then said, "I left the first team during the season, but it's really hard to win a double-digit victory on the professional stage. I think I've done enough and hard work." Due to this comment, the media around the world, including Japan, began to see public opinion that Sasaki would be able to challenge the Major League after the end of this season.
In particular, Jim Bowden, who served as the general manager of the Washington Nationals in the past, ranked Sasaki third in the FA rankings through "The Athletic," and "MLB.com ", the official website of the Major League, ranked Sasaki 25th. Sasaki's full-fledged FA ranking clearly set a very different atmosphere from last year. 메이저사이트
In the midst of this, additional news about Sasaki has been reported. It is that he has rejected Chiba Lotte's offer for the 2025 season. It should be noted that Chiba Lotte seriously considered Sasaki's advance to the big league, but later suggested that he stay. The same thing is likely to happen as last winter. Romero added, "The situation of the 23-year-old ace remains uncertain. One possibility is to sign a contract with a major league team, and the other possibility is to continue negotiations with Chiba Lotte for the 2025 season."
If Romero's news is clear, Sasaki's entry into the major leagues is likely to fail this winter, but the situation can change rapidly at any time. With the Yokohama DeNA Baystars rising to the top in 26 years on the 3rd and Japan entering the stove league in earnest as the Japanese Series schedule ended, interest in Sasaki's future is expected to increase.