'Glass Body Throwing Light Ball'Sasaki Rocky's Key Reason for Starting Posting at MLB Winter Meeting
Dec 08, 2024
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The timing of posting by Roki Sasaki (23), the star of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japanese professional baseball, has been confirmed. It is known that the company plans to start posting in earnest during the MLB Winter Meeting in Dallas, Texas next week.
MLB.COM published an article on the 8th (Korea time) 'Sasaki's posting is expected to start next week' This is based on what an internal source familiar with the situation of Sasaki, a tremendous fastball pitcher representing the Japanese professional baseball (NPB), told reporter Mark Pinesand, one of the MLB.COM's representative reporters.
According to the report, Sasaki set the MLB Winter Meeting to be held in Dallas next week as the time of posting. It's a strategic choice to bring the amount of posting to the maximum.
The posting negotiation period for NPB players is 45 days. It is 50 percent longer than the former member of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). Therefore, if Sasaki posts next week, she can continue posting negotiations until late January next year.
There is a point here. Sasaki, who was born on Nov. 3, 2001, turned 23 last month. Therefore, it is subject to the 'Amateur FA Contract' because it does not meet the conditions of '25 years of age or older and 6 seasons of overseas professional league experience recognized by MLB.
As a result, it is difficult to receive a large down payment even if the posting is successful because each club is restricted from pulling bonuses for overseas contracts. Shohei Ohtani (30) received only $2.315 million when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017 through posting.
On the other hand, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (26), who entered the MLB through posting last winter, was not subject to the down payment limit because he spent seven seasons in the NPB at the age of 25. In the end, Yamamoto was able to sign a super-special contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $325 million, the highest ever posting.
Sasaki has no choice but to follow in the footsteps of Ohtani, not Yamamoto. Therefore, we have no choice but to aim to receive the maximum amount within the limited bonus pool. There are differences in each MLB club, but there is usually a bonus pool for overseas amateur players of $5 to $7.5 million.
However, the bonus pool will also be reset as the contract period for international amateur players in 2025 begins on January 15 next year. For this reason, Sasaki also plans to sign a posting contract after January 15 next year. To this end, it can be seen that the start of posting is scheduled for next week's winter meeting period. It is a strategy to set a sufficient negotiation period to lead to more favorable contracts.
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The average speed limit for fastballs in 2024 (111 innings) was 96.9 miles per hour (about 156 kilometers per hour). This is the number that fell from 2023. The average speed of fastball in the 2023 season (91 innings) was 98.9 miles per hour (about 159 kilometers per hour).
To reiterate, this figure is 'average fastball velocity'.
This alone deserves tremendous attention on the MLB stage occupied by 'Arrest Revolution'. His record in his short career is also incredible. April 10, 2022, achieved the 16th perfect game in NPB history against Orix Buffalo. In addition, he recorded 19 strikeouts and 13 consecutive hitters in the game.
But there is also a problem. There is a problem with durability because you throw such a powerful fastball. It is a chronic problem for fastball pitchers. In four seasons (2021-2024) in the NPB, he pitched 69 games and 394 ⅔ innings. He went 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA. He has 88 walks and 505 strikeouts.
It seems like a great record, but if you look closely, you can see the problem. Throughout his professional career, not a single season has met the stipulated innings. This is the result of thorough management due to concerns about injuries. Thanks to Chiba Lotte's management, there were no serious injuries yet. However, he only pitched 111 innings this season.
In short, he is a superhero who runs with a 'time bomb' planted in his body. In the Major League, where the number of games and the distance traveled are increasing significantly, it is doubtful whether they will be able to run for a long time with this level of innings. If a bomb explodes, it will inevitably lose its strength, which is its strength. Attention is focusing on how MLB clubs interested in Sasaki will deal with the issue.
Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
