Where would Sasaki fit in Orioles’ rotation? | MAILBAG

Question:  If the O’s try to sign the Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, how does it affect their signing pool? Where would he fit in the rotation? From: Johnaton Meekins

Answer: Johnaton, the Orioles have $6,908,000 in their international signing pool, and Sasaki’s bonus would come out of that.

At the Winter Meetings, his agent, Joel Wolfe, said that since there’s not a great disparity in what teams have in their signing pools, money won’t be a factor in where Sasaki signs.

I think the Orioles would be happy to find a place for him in their rotation, probably in the fourth or fifth slot to begin the season if they were able to sign him. While they’ll try to sign Sasaki, it seems unlikely they’ll be able to get him.

Question: The Orioles lost a lot of players in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft. Has it been that way in the last few years? I don’t recall seeing that. And is it a concern? Is there any compensation for losing these guys? From what I can tell they don’t get returned under any circumstance. From: Pat Whalen

Answer: Pat, this was a popular question. Scott Schoenberger, Dan Klein and Bill Connor also asked about the Triple-A Rule 5.

Teams are allowed to protect 38 players on their Triple-A roster, and the loss of six players was far more than I can remember from any team in recent years. It’s not a concern because the Orioles think their minor league system is deep.

They’re paid $24,000 per player, and unlike the major league Rule 5 draft, they are not returned. It’s basically a sale of players who don’t make the Triple-A roster.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.