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TAMPA, Fla. -- In speaking about the priorities of Roki Sasaki, the headliner of this year¡¯s class of amateur international free agents, agent Joel Wolfe often pointed to pitching development as a priority for the young Japanese ace.

Wolfe previously said Sasaki ¡°paid attention¡± to which teams have been successful over the past few years and noted that small- and mid-market teams wouldn¡¯t necessarily be at a disadvantage, although his list of finalists reportedly included the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays.

Few teams get more out of their pitchers than the Rays have under pitching coach Kyle Snyder, and perhaps no club better represents small-market success. So, it should come as no surprise that the Rays were eager to make their pitch to Sasaki, who is available at a reasonable cost (a bonus within the assigned international signing pool, then a Minor League contract) with six years of club control.

¡°We have a good relationship with Roki¡¯s agent, and Roki is a very big fan of Kyle Snyder,¡± Rays international scouting director Steve Miller said. ¡°I know that the conversations with [manager Kevin] Cash and Kyle and [president of baseball operations] Erik [Neander], the conversations went great.¡±

One thing the Rays couldn¡¯t offer Sasaki? Future certainty. Although they now support the rebuilding of Tropicana Field after it was damaged by Hurricane Milton, it¡¯s still not clear where Tampa Bay will play after spending this season at Steinbrenner Field.

¡°The hurricane, I think, put us in a really difficult spot. Losing the Trop, not knowing where we¡¯re going to be, put us in a difficult spot with Roki,¡± Miller said. ¡°But I do think that he really appreciated the conversations that he had here.¡±

Miller said the Rays kept Sasaki ¡°in the back of our minds¡± but otherwise treated Wednesday¡¯s start of the international signing period ¡°as business as usual.¡± The Rays added 12 prospects to their organization, including three of MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 50 -- Dominican center fielder Maykel Coret (No. 9, $1.6 million) and infielders Raymer Medina (No. 20, $1.1 million) and Warel Solano (No. 30, $1.05 million) -- and Venezuelan shortstop Eliomar Garces ($1.6 million).

The Rays might have been more restricted by the limited number of Minor League roster spots each organization can carry than the size of their bonus pool, which was tied for the largest in baseball at $7,555,500. They signed 12 players on Wednesday but expect to bring in more as space becomes available, and they still have pool money left to spend throughout the year.

¡°If something were to happen [with Sasaki], we would have made a decision at that moment. But until anything happened, we were aggressively trying to put together this class and extremely happy that we ended up getting them,¡± Miller said. ¡°We¡¯re really happy with the class that we¡¯ve been able to put together, and we were just told to just conduct business as usual.¡±

The Rays were pleased with the quality and depth of their class, highlighted by the four players who received seven-figure bonuses.

The Rays believe Coret, 17, has the highest ceiling among the group, with a combination of foot speed (a 6.6-second 60-yard dash), bat speed and pop (already recording 104 mph exit velocities, with a chance for top-of-the-scale power), arm strength (96 mph throws from the outfield) and rangy defense (a chance to be a ¡°plus¡± defender in center).

In other words, a potential five-tool player.

¡°He¡¯s one we¡¯re really excited about,¡± Miller said.

The Rays evaluated Garces as arguably the best defensive shortstop in the entire class, no small factor considering the importance they place on defense. But he¡¯s not a glove-only player, as the switch-hitter also profiles as a line-drive, contact-oriented hitter who doesn¡¯t expand his strike zone and could develop into 8-12 home run power with speed.

¡°Of the group of infielders that we¡¯ve signed, he¡¯s probably the best defensive shortstop,¡± Miller said. ¡°He really catches the ball well. He moves his feet well. He converts outs. He makes a lot of contact from both sides of the plate and sprays the ball around. He¡¯s developing some power.¡±

Medina is another switch-hitting shortstop, although the Dominican Republic native is more well-rounded -- sure-handed but less dynamic defensively than Garces, albeit with more power and likely less contact at the plate.

Solano, meanwhile, is essentially the opposite of Garces as an offensive-oriented infielder who has real power potential but might have to settle in as an average second/third baseman.

¡°He's one of our more exciting bat-potential prospects in this class,¡± Miller said of Solano.