The Opener: Bonus Pool Trades, Infield Market, Rotation Market

As the offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Teams weighing trades of bonus pool money?

Yesterday, the Giants made two trades to pick up additional international bonus pool money. In doing so, they shipped out catcher Blake Sabol to the Red Sox and righty Will Kempner to the Marlins. More teams could follow suit in that regard, as both the Dodgers and Padres are in the market to add additional funds to their bonus pools amid their respective pursuits of NPB right-hander Roki Sasaki. Those clubs aren’t likely to be alone in the looking to make deals involving bonus pool space. Sasaki’s presence on the market has caused the Dodgers to allow several committed players to look elsewhere, while the Padres have been holding off on finalizing deals in anticipation of Sasaki’s decision. The Dodgers, Friars and Jays have all held off on finalizing deals with international prospects as of yet, as have several other clubs. Even teams that aren’t finalists for Sasaki might be cagey with finalizing deals, knowing that they could have the ability to trade for some extra bonus space and scoop up a prospect who’d been gearing up to sign with L.A., San Diego or Toronto.

2. Potential movement on the infield market:

There’s been some movement on the infield market since the calendar flipped to January, kicked off by Josh Rojas signing with the White Sox on Jan. 2. Since then, Amed Rosario and Donovan Solano have landed deals in D.C. and Seattle, respectively, while Thairo Estrada finalized his December agreement to sign in Colorado. That movement has left relatively few bench players still available on the infield with Whit Merrifield, Jose Iglesias, and Paul DeJong among the most notable options available. Meanwhile, the infield market’s rumors have primarily been focused at the top of the market where there’s been plenty of buzz about the markets of both first basemen Pete Alonso and third basemen Alex Bregman in recent days. With rumors churning at the top of the market and a number of lower-level signings occurring in recent weeks, could more deals be on the horizon?

3. Will Sasaki spur movement in the rotation market?

Aside from an occasional one-year deal for a veteran arm like Justin Verlander or Charlie Morton, the rotation market has quieted in the aftermath of right-hander Corbin Burnes signing late last month. Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Max Scherzer, Andrew Heaney and Jose Quintana are among the quality veterans who still remain available in free agency. Luis Castillo and Dylan Cease have seen their names come up in trade rumors, but there’s been seemingly little movement on those markets in the New Year. One potential wrinkle in the market is Sasaki, particularly since the Padres could feel more comfortable dealing from the rotation were he to land in San Diego. Other clubs like the Mariners, Cubs, Yankees and Rangers were at least loosely involved in his market until recently and may have been holding off on significant decisions while waiting on a resolution to his free agency. Those clubs, now informed that they’re out of the running, will have to turn to alternative plans. With a decision looming from Sasaki, could the wider market start to move again in the coming days?