NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants have been informed Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki won’t be signing with them.
Giants general manager Zack Minasian announced during a news conference Monday to introduce Justin Verlander that the team no longer is in contention.
Sasaki’s decision to eliminate the Yankees and Rangers was disclosed to The Associated Press by people familiar with the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Sasaki’s intention to sign elsewhere had not been announced. The decision regarding the Yankees was first reported by the team’s YES Network.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are considered the favorites to sign the 23-year-old right-hander, with the Toronto Blue Jays another possibility.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, has not publicly identified teams under consideration. Sasaki also has been said to have met with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.
Under MLB’s international amateur signing rules and the posting system between Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki can sign with an MLB team during a window starting at 8 a.m. CST Wednesday and ending at 4 p.m. CST on Jan. 23.
Because Sasaki is under 25 and has not played six seasons in NPB, he is classified as an international amateur and limited to a minor-league contract subject to international signing bonus pools, which range from $7,555,500 to $5,146,200. Starting Wednesday, teams may make trades to increase their signing bonus allotment by up to 60% from their initial figure.
Sasaki’s fastball tops 100 mph. He was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 in 111 innings in a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four injury-shortened seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
AP’s Stephen Hawkins and Janie McCauley contributed.