There was never a doubt that the Yankees — like everyone else in baseball — wanted Roki Sasaki.
And if the Japanese right-hander ended up in The Bronx, that would have been just fine with Donny Rowland, the Yankees director of international amateur scouting.
But Rowland continued to keep his eyes on the players he’d been scouting for years.
Players like Mani Cedeno, a 16-year-old shortstop, one of the youngest players in this year’s international class and who signed with the Yankees for a $2.5 million bonus this week.
Had Sasaki, 23, made a different decision and gone with the Yankees instead of the Dodgers, Cedeno — and some of the other top Yankee signees — likely would have ended up elsewhere, since Sasaki would have taken up most of their $6.2 million pool.
Asked how he thought the process worked out, with Sasaki a Dodger and the Yankees instead adding to their minor league depth with Cedeno, as well as outfielders Ruben Castillo and Isaias Castillo at the top of the class, Rowland said, “The only way to answer that is I want what’s best for the Yankees. And if what’s best for the Yankees would have been Sasaki, then obviously that’s what I want. The fact of the matter is, it didn’t turn out that way and we really liked this class.”
And the Yankees group is led by Cedeno, a 5-foot-10 shortstop from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic.
Rowland called Cedeno “a potential five-tool player.’’
While Cedeno could stay at shortstop, according to Rowland, his best tool is his bat.
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“He has a simple, efficient swing from the right side and he generates elite exit velocity for his age,’’ Rowland said of Cedeno, among the youngest players of this class. “He’s got big power to all fields.”
Of Ruben Castillo, Rowland said the center fielder is “very athletic” with above-average defense.
“He moves really easily,’’ Rowland said. “He has a chance to be a premium defensive center fielder.”
And his lefty swing is reminiscent of former Angels outfielder Garret Anderson, according to Rowland, although the 5-foot-9 Castillo lacks Anderson’s size.
And Isaias Castillo is an outfielder that Rowland called “some kind of exciting.”
“He has a physical, explosive power and speed combo with the ability to play center field and run,’’ Rowland said.
Now, the Yankees wait — just as they did when they made headlines when they signed Jasson Dominguez to a record $5.1 million bonus in 2019.
Dominguez turns 22 in February and is expected to be in the Yankees outfield this season, alongside Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.
“We’re signing guys at 16, around seven years prior to when they’d be a college senior,’’ Rowland said. “So you’re predicting and forecasting. You’re looking into a crystal ball. It’s not easy to do and you hope you get it right more often than the other teams.”
And with Sasaki in Los Angeles, the spotlight will be on Cedeno and Co. as they progress through the Yankees farm system.
Much like Dominguez and other top signees in recent years like SS Roderick Arias, considered the organization’s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and outfielder Brando Mayea, No. 13.
“I want what’s best for the club,’’ Rowland said. “I always look at it as, ‘Let’s max out the talent as best we can’ and if that means we get Sasaki, that means we get Sasaki. If it means we get some of these other players we like, that’s great.”