Orioles, Dodgers lead in unused international money in 2024

NEW YORK – The Baltimore Orioles left about $2.1 million unused from their 2024 international signing bonus pool and the Los Angeles Dodgers about $1.9 million in a year there was speculation that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki would be available.

Major League Baseball’s international amateur signing period runs from January 15th to December 15th, and Sasaki was not released until December 8th. The 2025 signing period starts on January 15 and the 45-day window to reach a deal with the touted 23-year-old runs until January 23, meaning he will sign within the 2025 window.

Bonus pools in 2025 range from $7,555,500 for eight teams to $5,146,200 for the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers are among the many teams interested in Sasaki.

“He’s somebody that’s obviously a big priority for us, and we’re going to do everything we can and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do exactly the same thing,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said during last week’s winter meetings.

San Diego, which has a $6,261,600 pot next year, is considered a favorite for Sasaki along with the Dodgers. The pitcher’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said he assumes Sasaki will “seriously consider” San Diego, where Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is on the roster and Hideo Nomo is a special adviser.

“I feel like the organization is in a really good place with Sasaki,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said at the winter meetings. “If there’s competition on the open market, I feel like we’re in a good spot for a lot of reasons. One is we’re in San Diego. We sell out our ballpark every night. We have a very competitive ball club. It’s a chance for him to come in and create a legacy for himself to help win that first World Series.”

Teams usually use their international signing bonus for Latin American players.

Other teams with more than $500,000 unused this year, according to the final numbers, were San Francisco ($767,500), Boston ($740,000), Colorado ($647,800) and the Chicago White Sox ($640,000).

Atlanta, the New York Yankees and Texas used up exactly their allocation. Teams may not cross over.

Fourteen teams had less than $100,000 unspent.

Players born from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007 were eligible to sign from January 15 to December 15, and signing bonuses of $10,000 and under do not count toward a team’s allocation.