The Los Angeles Dodgers won the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes as the Japanese phenom announced he would be signing with the club rather than the Toronto Blue Jays or San Diego Padres, the other finalists for his services.
However, the Dodgers had the least amount of international bonus pool money available to them and the Blue Jays acquired funds earlier in the day. That gave Toronto roughly $3 million more to offer than the Dodgers, who entered the day with $5,146,200 available.
The Dodgers were reportedly looking to acquire more bonus pool space, and they have done just that as L.A. traded Dylan Campbell to the Philadelphia Phillies for international pool bonus money, the club announced.
Campbell was selected by the Dodgers with the 136th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He was the compensation pick for the Los Angeles Angels signing Tyler Anderson from the Dodgers.
The outfielder has hit .247/.325/.369 thus far in his Minor League career with 22 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 59 RBI, 70 runs scored and 45 stolen bases in 129 games.
It’s unclear how much the Dodgers received from the Phillies, but international bonus pool money can only be traded in increments of $250,000, unless it’s the entire amount of the other team’s pool.
Teams can also only acquire up to 60% of their starting bonus pool total, which caps the Dodgers out at around $3 million they could theoretically acquire.
Why did the Dodgers need more international bonus pool money?
Sasaki is bound to the international bonus pool system because he has not pitched six professional seasons or reached 25-years-old yet, so he is limited to a Minor League deal and a signing bonus.
Each team was capped in the total amount they could offer him, similar to when Shohei Ohtani made the jump to MLB to sign with the Angels for $2.315 million.
Sasaki should get more than that from the Dodgers, likely taking up their entire bonus pool plus the amount they acquired from the Phillies.
