Great idea. Especially in the pursuit of Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, who will be posted this winter. He’s the equivalent of a Golden Ticket. His signing bonus won’t cost more than a team’s already allotted international free agency pool money. He will make the major league minimum. At least for his first season. Every team will shoot their shot.

For years, Seattle was regarded as a premier destination for Japanese players making the jump to Major League Baseball. The Mariners had strong ties across the Pacific: They had a longtime owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi,

The Seattle Mariners will make an attempt to sign Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Roki Sasaki when he is posted for free agency.

Sasaki’s club announced he would be posted and the Rangers are among the top contenders to sign the Japanese pitching phenom.

Even though the Philadelphia Phillies will likely pursue Roki Sasaki, is is unlikely that they would be one of the favorites to sign him.

A.J. Preller’s pursuit of Roki Sasaki, the standout prize of this offseason, may have unofficially started in the middle of the summer. On June 6, Padres pitcher Yu Darvish was placed on the restricted list to handle a personal family matter.