"Jan. 15 is the first day Roki Sasaki will sign" – MLB insider on the high-stakes race for international bonus money

Roki Sasaki is one of the hottest names to keep an eye on as the offseason continues to roll along. While proven MLB superstars such as Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman are still looking for their next deal, Sasaki's situation is completely different.

Sasaki's status as an international amateur means he cannot be signed to a massive contract like Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Instead, MLB teams hoping to sign Sasaki will need to utilize their international bonus pool rather than offering large contracts.

This opens the door for nearly every team to at least approach him as opposed to only the clubs willing to spend huge dollars. Fans may not have to wait much longer to see where Sasaki goes (if he does sign with an MLB club).

Wednesday is the first day of the international signing period. However, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal thinks it could drag on a bit longer. On Friday's episode of Foul Territory, Rosenthal spoke about the Roki Sasaki situation and how it could play out.

"As far as the timetable, yes, Jan. 15 is the first day he will sign," Rosenthal said. "Joel Wolfe, the agent, has said that he's not going to sign on that date, and the reason is what you said, Scott, teams are going to try to add international dollars in trades."

It will be interesting to see how clubs approach adding international pool money to the trade market because, unlike in the past, teams will only be able to add $250,000 in each trade. Rosenthal explained that this was not the case back when Shohei Ohtani was on the market when teams could add $1,000,000 in a deal.

"If you're going $250,000 at a time... to get to $1,000,000, you've got to make four trades. ... That is one reason why the situation or the decision will be delayed. Is it possible that we might have an indication by Jan. 15? We might based on some of the manuvering going on but right now it's hard to predict where this is going."

Los Angeles Dodgers are considered the frontrunners to sign Roki Sasaki

This may not be the move MLB fans want to see at this point. However, the Los Angeles Dodgers are viewed as the favorites to sign Roki Sasaki this offseason. In a real case of the rich getting richer, the reigning World Series champions might be unstoppable if they are able to bring in the 23-year-old pitcher.

That being said, stranger things have happened. Several clubs are looking to add Sasaki, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. Even though the Dodgers are the favorites, any one of the teams above, or even a mystery club, could step up before the Jan. 23 deadline.