caulfield12

No way he gets less than $200 million at that age...$225-250 million unless he just explodes again this season after two seasons of slightly lesser numbers. And think of the lineup protection in LA...my god. http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.mlb.com/news/munetaka-murakami-to-be-posted-for-2026&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwj-odWqv_-KAxWWIEQIHbrtD54QFnoECAoQDQ&usg=AOvVaw2sINNFeyImh6_6A6bwvYED http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/three-budding-japanese-baseball-stars-who-could-be-next-to-fetch-huge-mlb-contracts/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiClsvhwP-KAxXUL0QIHUkzKlwQFnoECAwQAg&usg=AOvVaw2vFH-L_X1x36khpZka22sn And finally, Orix's 21 year old Yamashita the next great Japanese pitcher, but likely not posting until 2028. "What's his game? Watch the clip above from last season and you might be struck by how much Yamashita resembles a MLB starter. He's 6-foot-2 and strong; he features the kind of truncated arm action popularized by Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber (among others); and he's already adept at playing the vertical game, elevating his mid-90s fastball over bats and burying his curveball below them. He threw a career-high 95 innings last season, punching out 26.4% of batters while walking less than 8% of them."

. 1. He won't be an ace -- yet Leading up to his first round of meetings last month, Sasaki provided his suitors -- believed to be at least eight teams -- with what he called a homework assignment. All of them had the same task: To diagnose why his fastball velocity dropped last season in Japan, and to outline their plan to ensure it never happens again. To those who have tracked him, it said a lot about the 23-year-old phenom -- that he's confident, but also self-aware. That he's a long-term thinker. And that though he recognizes he can get better, he's hell-bent on being great. "There aren't a whole lot of 23-year-olds who are going to be assertive enough to ask eight major league front offices a question like that," said a high-ranking executive who has seen Sasaki since high school. "Most kids that age are either in awe of that situation or hanging on for dear life." https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/43440181/mlb-offseason-2025-roki-sasaki-los-angeles-dodgers-scouts

https://dodgersnation.com/japanese-star-headed-for-mlb-soon-posts-photo-wearing-dodgers-hat/2024/12/27/#:~:text=Murakami plans to sign with an MLB team,pictured wearing a baseball hat representing the Dodgers. https://x.com/munetaka55ys/status/1871837920560341025/photo/1 Japanese 3B "Babe Ruth/Aaron Judge" of Samurai Japan/WBC fame expected to sign with LAD in 2026 at age 25/26 when he becomes eligible for next massive $300+ million contract...20% posting fee will go to his NPB team similar to Yamamoto deal. Questions exist about his weight/defense and potential move to 1B/DH later in his career, but power is totally legit. Will replace Max Muncy at 3B. Already set record for youngest bitter ever in Japan to 200 NPB home runs.

Make that 11 pitchers deep with Clayton Kershaw's eventual/inevitable return "He’s continuing to heal and build up from the procedures he’s had,” Gomes said at the Winter Meetings. “We’ll just stay in touch. As I said, I hope and our expectation is that Clayton will be back next year, and whenever he’s ready, if we’re fortunate enough to bring him back, we’ll plug him in.” The future Hall of Famer made it clear he wanted to retire as a Dodger at the end of the season, calling himself a “Dodger for life”. “I just thought everyone kind of assumed and knew I was coming back. I didn’t really think about it,” Kershaw said during the playoffs after announcing he would play another season but not specifying for what team. “I’m going to be a Dodger.” https://dodgersnation.com/dodgers-gm-reveals-latest-update-on-clayton-kershaw/2024/12/24/

"I think his experience at [the] WBC," Wolfe said on Dec. 30, "being around [Yu] Darvish, being around Ohtani, and then seeing [Shota] Imanaga come over and dominate at such a level in the first half, I believe he realized … in order to take it to the next level, he had to come here, play against the best players in the world every day and tap into all the resources that Major League teams have to … help him become one of the best pitchers to ever not just come out of NPB, but to be one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball." http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.mlb.com/news/roki-sasaki-contract-with-dodgers&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiGu8D9of-KAxUtLEQIHQoBKcsQ0PADegQICBAD&usg=AOvVaw0xyTBZi_gjl5BsgurcXBxe Dodgers' rotation Blake Snell Tyler Glasnow Dustin May Tony Gonsolin London Knack Yamamoto Sasaki Ohtani (later in season)...10 pitchers deep if you include Bobby Miller, Emmett Sheehan and River Ryan Clayton Kershaw? Best Fastball: Reynaldo Yean Best Curveball: Jackson Ferris (2026 ETA) Best Slider: Hyun-Seok Jang (White Sox pool money made possible) Best Changeup: Jose Rodriguez Best Control: Jared Karros (son of Erik)

They call him the "WestEddy" of the Padres' board... https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-roki-sasaki-shohei-ohtani-compare-as-pitchers-at-the-same-age/

https://www.truebluela.com/2025/1/17/24346370/dodgers-reds-trade-arnaldo-lantigua-international-bonus-pool-roki-sasaki This is where the other $1.5 million in pool space came from...Cincy Reds and not Texas. "The Dodgers signed OFer Lantigua out of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic in 2023 for a reported $700,000 signing bonus. He hit .301/.430/.575 with 11 home runs and seven doubles in 49 games in the Dominican Summer League last season, and had nearly as many walks (33) as strikeouts (34). Lantigua just turned 19 in December."

"Fast forward to this offseason... the Dodgers have just added so much to their rotation with the return of Teoscar/Edman - extended. BUT.. I will say losing Buehler (although not as effective) and Flaherty (seems likely not to return to LA as a FA), both those pitchers contributed to last season's championship run, more so Flaherty in a very big way. Ohtani aint pitching till at least June... and I'm really not banking on him to return to all-star level pitching form coming off his 2nd TJ (success rate is very low I might add). May/Gosolin seem to be depth pieces and are both coming off major njuries as well. I'm still not sold on Yamamoto and he was injured for quite some time last season pitching his first season in the majors. Glasnow at this point is just not reliable this far into his career and I'm not sold on him lasting an entire season to be quite frank. Snell had a monster second half coming back from his injury... but again, one more year added to his career and he aint getting any younger either, he may be an injury risk at some point. Ray has may a great point on this board... Sasaki seems to have the stature/potential on becoming a solid pitcher in the majors.... but he's still a rookie and has also dealt with injuries in his young career so far. Sasaki will no doubt go through his bumps and bruises... and perhaps injuries while adjusting at the major league level. Sasaki is what other rookie pitchers are at this point... just unproven rookies. The Dodgers on the offensive side have weapons... BUT Muncy (had injuries/older), Freeman (had injuries/older), Mookie (older and playing SS???), Teoscar (older), Will Smith (regressed offensively)... just doesn't scare me as much as last season for some reason. Ohtani is obviously their biggest offensive threat and will have a monster year playing DH. I just don't buy the Dodgers like many others do (I'll admit, maybe I'm a bit biased)... yes, injuries are part of the game, but the Dodgers have a lot of injury prone arms in that rotation and even in their bullpen that I really don't think will be as great as the pundits are saying... also, that offense just seems older and will soon regress in my opinion. With that being said... the Padres window is slowly closing as well... with the big names Manny/X/Darvish/Musgrove all consuming a big chunk of the CBT payroll." stronger gaslampball.com comments section post...playing Devil's Advocate

http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.essentiallysports.com/mlb-baseball-news-who-is-munetaka-murakami-when-will-he-be-joining-the-mlb-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-next-aaron-judge/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjOy7Wn1v6KAxVoLtAFHXmwFecQ0PADegQIDxAD&usg=AOvVaw233uTEmAOjKh_dkZc9ujh2 Here is next year's Muncy replacement...the "Japanese Aaron Judge" at 3B. Let the bidding begin. At 24 years, 3 months, and 13 days, Munetaka Murakami has ... - Reddit www.reddit.com › baseball › comments May 15, 2024 · At 24 years, 3 months, and 13 days, Munetaka Murakami has become the youngest player in NPB history to reach 200 career home runs. https://borjaonsports.com/baseball/top-15-npb-position-players/ https://borjaonsports.com/npb/top-15-npb-position-players-2024/ https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-top-5-japanese-talents-npb-keep-eye-2024-ft-roki-sasaki-munetaka-murakami

"There’s also the frustration in San Diego and beyond that the Dodgers get whomever they want, whenever they want. The gravitational pull of the World Series win, coupled with the possibility of multiple more to come, has become baseball’s Venus flytrap. Get too close and it’s over." ... "The franchise with seemingly more riches than an Egyptian pharaoh, the one that deferred $680 million of Ohtani’s salary for a decade, somehow found a way to spend less. This is not the rich getting richer. It’s the rich turning into Elon Musk."

Like a Clydesdale stomp on the rest of baseball... https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/01/17/bryce-miller-roki-sasakis-clydesdale-stomp-decision-to-join-dodgers-pains-padres/ "In San Diego, news that one-man Powerball ticket Roki Sasaki has decided to join the Dodgers was more than a gut punch. It was a steel-toed boot to the shin, a Clydesdale stomp to the foot, a right hook to the jaw. This hurt in all kinds of ways, big and bigger than big. The Dodgers, a team that spent more than $1 billion last season alone before winning the World Series, just became a one-city All-Star team. Sasaki, the Japanese star with a ceiling as mesmerizing as the Sistine Chapel, has joined a rotation that includes two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, $700 million arm and bat Shohei Ohtani, $325 million Japanese pickup Yoshinobu Yamamoto and All-Star Tyler Glasnow. That’s insane. Who’s next, time-machine Nolan Ryan? Then you tick off the offense Sasaki and the Dodgers line up behind that staff, starting with league MVPs Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and the big picture staggers."

Yes, that same villain who was almost orphaned as a child, losing a father and two grandparents in a natural disaster....he betrayed the Padres/Preller!!! "Sasaki is from Rikuzentakata in the Iwate Prefecture. Born in 2001, he was named after the villain Rouki from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, a Super Sentai show that was aired in the same year.[2][3] He was in the third grade during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resulting tsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, while Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in a nursing home during the recovery.[4][5][6] The family moved to Ōfunato the next year and Sasaki began to play baseball at his new school." wikipedia

Balta is in trouble now...this seems worse than the Native American nicknames controversy, lol.

If you have a team with SIX And SOON SEVEN $100+ million contracts on the books in Machado, Tatis Jr., Cronenworth, Darvish, Musgrove, Bogaerts, Merrill (pending)...and they barely have the slimmest hopes to compete now, and the Rockies are basically done for before Opening Day...what message does that send to fans in medium and small markets and Chicago lol? Not even wildfires and earthquakes can detail their juggernaut unless two of those three pitchers get hurt again (it would mean the end of Ohtani ever pitching again in all likelihood).

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2025-01-17/roki-sasaki-choosing-dodgers-pitcher-development https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2025-01-17/dodgers-sign-japanese-star-roki-sasaki With Sasaki TEAM WINS PLAYOFF CHANCES WORLD SERIES CHANCES Dodgers 102.6 98.5% 27.9% Padres 89.9 66.6% 4.8% Blue Jays 87.1 57.2% 4.2% Without Sasaki TEAM WINS PLAYOFF CHANCES WORLD SERIES CHANCES Dodgers 99.9 95.4% 22.8% Padres 86.4 51.4% 2.7% Blue Jays 83.1 40.1% 1.8% For the Dodgers, the regular-season impact is negligible. Sasaki adds additional certainty but they were already heavy favorites to repeat as National League West champs. The bigger impact comes in defending their World Series title. But the addition of Sasaki further highlights the Dodgers' dominance, especially over their division rivals, who, to an even greater extent, are looking at long odds for a first-place finish. There isn't anything not to like for Los Angeles. If you consider the signing through the prism of risk/reward, it's an easy A. If you consider it through the prism of moving the needle in the short term, also an A. If you consider it through the prism of making an impact addition without inhibiting your financial flexibility, also an A. If you think of it from the standpoint of giving your fans a unique player and talent who should be incredibly fun to watch, also the easiest of As. Finally, the last reason for the straight A: Sasaki could have signed with any team, and every team wanted him. He chose the team. That's not just "A" material -- it's a triumph and a validation for a franchise that bolsters its ever-expanding global dominance. Grade: A https://global.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/43440151/mlb-offseason-2025-grading-roki-sasaki-los-angeles-dodgers

The Dodgers are basically the Chiefs/Patriots....but they will soon be able to outspend the Mets and Yankees by nearly 50-100% since Ohtani alone generated an extra $100 million (conservatively) by himself, and now they have the three national stars of one baseball crazy country with the 4th largest GDP in the world all together, unified, now basically backing one team... Are/were those two dynastic NFL teams bad for the league? Well, not if the fans of other teams believe they still have a fighting or at least punchet's chance. SD was on the cusp of stopping LA early three years in a row but made the mistake of starting Cease on 3 day's rest and that was all she wrote. Yamamoto played a key role as well.

Looks like the entire Dodgers' remaining intl class is open season unless they are willing to wait another year.

https://sports.yahoo.com/roki-sasaki-says-hes-signing-with-dodgers-giving-them-monster-japanese-trio-in-rotation-231051776.html $6.5 million signing bonus 7 deep rotation...featuring three star Japanese pitchers

Will Klein is available now due to the LeClerc push to get the A's payroll up to $105 million... https://www.mlb.com/player/will-klein-694361 11.05 career mlb ERA, would seemingly fit right in

696 lifetime ops well above whatever the team average was last year... Oh yeah, 618.

Best developmental guys in low minors. That may or may not be a Santos or Jirschele...leadership, strategy, rapport with vets/AAAA types, balancing winning vs. development etc. Dealing with guys sent down or blocked. Pushing some, comforting others. Different skill sets. Clearly Santos is now the heir apparent after V enable.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/43429216/mlb-2024-25-mid-offseason-grades-dodgers-mets-yankees-phillies What grade do Getz/White Sox have so far lol???

Could have brought back Iguchi... "Not that he would've been a savior for us, but this is the final blow of what has been a disastrous offseason for the team and their fans. Regardless of who we blame, the Seidlers, Sasaki's BS dog and pony show, the Dodgers' ultimate goal of eliminating competition, the fact of the matter is that we were the closest to beating the defending champs last year and decided to go the opposite direction. Just focus on trading Cease, King, and Arraez for assets and wait another 5-10 years to be competitive again while wasting away FTJ's prime years. It's sickening." gaslampball.com

https://www.mondaq.com/canada/income-tax/1540278/canadian-tax-traps-for-professional-athletes-entering-leaving-or-playing-in-canada-tax-planning-considerations-for-cross-border-professional-athletes Fine...tax consequences for athletes are much more complicated. "We discussed some of the intricacies that these athletes face in Canada. I think the general consensus among sports fans is that Canada has a very hard time attracting athletes because of its very high tax rates, its complicated tax system, and the Canada Revenue Agency's laser focus on these athletes' income just as soon as they set foot in the country. The conversation mostly focused on income, personal income tax, allocation of income, taxation of nonresident employees, Canada's tax treaties, and how that complicates how these athletes are treated." https://www.forbes.com/sites/taxnotes/2022/06/22/how-canada-taxes-pro-athletes/ Am not going to get into California tax politics lol.

Not in this case. Especially if you consider the exchange rate. This was never about $$$. Heck, he's going to have to clear border control/immigration/customs over and over again going in and out of Cacontract so frequently. Remember he lost his father and grandparents to natural disaster as a kid...Toronto is as safe as it gets compared to LA now.