Minnesota Twins Might be Able to Pay Roki Sasaki More Than Most MLB Teams

What the Minnesota Twins should do this offseason, vs what they actually can do, are two very different things. After cutting payroll by $30 million this time last year, they are now short on MLB talent… with little money available to fix that problem.

President of baseball operations Derek Falvey will have to pull out an offseason miracle. Make his team better without any additional funds to do it. But hey, there are avenues in which he can pull the miracle off. The most appealing route is somehow finding a way to sign 23-year-old Japanese phenom starting pitcher, Roki Sasaki

The assumption is that Roki Sasaki will find his way to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he could play with fellow countryman Shohei Ohtani. The west coast is always the most ideal landing spot for those who want to be as close as possible to Japan.

Ohtani isn’t the only Japanese star to sign with the Dodgers recently. Top international free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a big free agent deal there last offseason. Normally, Dodger interest (along with every other MLB team) would pretty much eliminate the Twins from any free agent conversation… but maybe not Sasaki.

Roki Sasaki could cash in with the Minnesota Twins?

If Sasaki wants to maximize his earnings over the next two seasons, his best landing spot (among a handful of other teams) is Minnesota. MLB insider Jeff Passan explained the situation in detail as part of a column he wrote at ESPN on Tuesday.

“If the Chiba Lotte Mariners wait until a few days into December to place Sasaki in the posting system, it would make him eligible to sign in the new international period (which starts Jan. 15, 2025) in lieu of the current one (which ends Dec. 15), increasing the amount he can receive. In the 2025 scenario, the absolute maximum Sasaki can receive would be $12,088,800 — and only from the eight teams (Cincinnati, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Oakland, Seattle, Tampa Bay) with the maximum amount of international bonus pool space.”

Jeff Passan on Roki Sasaki’s free agency (ESPN)

Sasaki’s posting date has yet to be revealed, and that’s the linchpin in many of these discussions. It stands to benefit both the player and his Japanese team, should they wait until the 2025 international signing period. If he is posted prior to December 15, then he’d be part of the 2024 international pool. If he waits until after that date, he’ll enter the 2025 pool.

Related: Don’t Count the Twins Out on One Top Free Agent

It’s not unfathomable to believe that the Twins could get in on the race for the rookie arm. It’s worth noting, however, that they were involved with a courtship of Ohtani, when he was posted a handful of years ago. Minnesota doesn’t have significant spending power from a payroll perspective.

How good is this dude? Really, really good…

But because Sasaki is under 25-years-old, he has to sign a minor league deal to come over to the MLB. That limits how much teams can pay him. The Twins can pay him more, due to technicalities. They just have more international signing bonus money available to them in 2025 than most other teams.

Roki Sasaki's 30 fastest pitches in 2 tracked games from the 2023 WBC:

101.9, 101.9, 101.9, 101.8, 101.7, 101.7, 101.6, 101.3, 101.3, 101.2, 101.1, 101, 100.9, 100.9, 100.9, 100.9, 100.8, 100.8, 100.8, 100.8, 100.7, 100.7, 100.7, 100.7, 100.7, 100.7, 100.7, 100.6, 100.6, 100.5 pic.twitter.com/PYlCqwI6nD

— Jacob (@JacobE_STL) November 9, 2024

Every team in baseball will be tripping over themselves to get a meeting with the 100-mph throwing Japanese phenom. Ultimately, they remain a longshot for Sasaki’s final rose. But unlike most situations, they may actually be able to stack the deck financially in ways most others cannot.

Related: Minnesota Twins Front Office Jockeying for Vacant GM Job

If Derek Falvey were able to somehow pull off this sort of signing, it could have ripple effects throughout the clubhouse and fanbase that not even he understands. And hey, the Twins PoBO shocked the baseball world when he landed Carlos Correa (twice). Maybe he can do it again.