It seems crazy to me that Sasaki's decision would come down to $2 million vs. $8 million (vs. $4 million or whatever). He's gonna get paid from endorsements and from his future contracts. And he's going to be on his new team for what, six years? I suppose most of his "classmates" won't even arrive by then but if I'm Andrew Friedman or Brian Cashman I just sign the guys I need to sign and make my pitch based on what his whole career is going to look like.
Now, if you're one of these players that has a verbal agreement with a team that is considering breaking it, what do you do? Sign with a new team on the 16th or wait and see if your team misses out on Sasaki? I don't really see where the Phillies would get much of any real value for their $250K blocks (even several of them) - perhaps the Tyler Gilbert measuring stick also applies here - but if they could swoop in and steal someone they never had a chance at...