10:10PM : The Padres are also looking to trade for more intl signing pool space, MLB.coms Mark Feinsand writes ( ). More teams than just the Sasaki suitors are also exploring such trades, as an executive tells Feinsand that other teams are recognizing opportunities to be aggre sive in the international market. 9:07PM : The 23-year-old is considered an international free agent due to his age, as league rules dictate, and thus his impending arrival to the big leagues has brought extra attention to the intl free agent acquisition proce s, which with the opening of the signing window. The race to sign Sasaki isnt technically a bidding war since the money on Miguel Vargas Jersey offer is limited by , and Sasakis willingne s to make the jump to the majors so early in his career indicates that salary isnt his chief priority. Neverthele s, that doesnt mean reportedly remaining in the hunt for Sasaki wont try to add a few extra dollars to their offers. reports that the Dodgers have engaged multiple teams in exploratory discu sions about trading for extra money from their bonus pools, though there doesnt appear to be any indication that any deals are close. Clubs are permitted to trade from their bonus pools in increments of $250K, and teams are allowed to add to their pre-existing pools by as much as 60 percent of their original number. The Dodgers 2025 pool was reduced by $1MM due to their signing of last winter, as Ohtani rejected the Angels qualifying offer and the Dodgers were a luxury-tax paying team in 2023, which left Los Angeles with $5,146,200 to work with for this years international cla s. This amount is tied with the Giants for the lowest pool of any team. The Blue Jays and Padres (the other Sasaki finalists) have a pool size of $6,261,600, giving them a bit extra to work with in terms of paying Sasaki, or spending on other intl talents should Sasaki sign elsewhere. Should all three teams trade for the maximum amount of extra pool space, the Dodgers would have approximately $8,223,920 to offer Sasaki, while Toronto and San Diego could offer him $10,018,560. As noted earlier, Sasaki likely isnt going to base his decision on what will ultimately end up being pretty similar offers from his three suitors. This could be why the Dodgers are apparently not yet pushing too hard to add to their pool space, as Sasaki might end up signing elsewhere anyway. Harris also notes that for the Dodgers (and presumably the Padres and Blue Jays), theres a lack of leverage in such trade talks, as rival teams know full well that intl bonus money is of particular importance as the clock ticks down towards January 23 and the close of Sasakis posting window. International pool space is usually not considered a hugely valuable trade a set in general, though naturally teams trying to ama s extra money to complete a signing may think otherwise. Earlier today, we saw the Giants acquire extra pool money in a pair of trades, as to the Red Sox and to the Marlins. These additional funds helped San Francisco boost its $5,146,200 figure, and probably helped the team land highly-touted Dominican shortstop prospect Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, who got a bonus of $2,997,500. The other wrinkle on the trade front is that teams with bonus space to spare might want to keep that money themselves for more signings, rather than deal it away. The team that lands Sasaki will have to walk away from its pre-existing handshake agreements with most or all members of its 2025 international signing cla s, so several other interesting prospects could soon be entering the market. Even the po sibility that these unofficial agreements might not be honored has cost the Dodgers at least three prospects already, so the two teams who dont sign Sasaki might both mi s out on the pitcher and have to deal with a reduced group of intl prospects if some of the players leave in advance. Yoan Moncada Jersey