Major League Baseball is done with the bulk of their free agency, still waiting for a few key names to hammer out their next destinations, but the marquee piece on the horizon is Roki Sasaki, the right-handed pitching phenom making the jump from Japan.
Sasaki is in the process of choosing the final group of teams, but up until this point, he wasn’t able to sign yet. With the 2025 International Signing Period opening on Jan. 15, he can now officially sign with any team.
The 23-year-old is bound to the international bonus pool system, so he will not receive a contract like Yoshinobu Yamamoto did last offseason, but he is still expecting to receive a hefty signing bonus of at least $5 million.
Sasaki’s talent level and potential makes that a near certainty, but his unique journey to MLB has made for a wild offseason of intrigue. But that will be coming to an end soon as he must sign within the next eight days when his 45-day posting window ends.
This week, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were named as the three finalists.
The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs were all informed they were not in the mix.
Although the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays have an allotted amount of international bonus pool money going into this signing period, they can acquire more capital, up to 60% of their current total, to increase their offer.
The Padres and Blue Jays both have $6,261,600 in international pool money, while the Dodgers have $5,146,200.
The Dodgers and Padres have long been named as the front-runners, and the ultimate factor that tips the scale could fall in a number of ways.
Sasaki has a strong relationship with Padres right-hander Yu Darvish and that alone could be a determining factor.
But the Dodgers boast track record, pedigree, top-end player development, and a culture of winning. Having Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a history of successful players from the KBO and NPB, are also key pieces to this.
The Blue Jays seem to be on the outside looking in of the process, but as one of the finalists, they are not out of it yet.
When will Roki Sasaki make his decision?
Sasaki has a deadline of Jan. 23, but the belief is he should make his decision shortly. It has also been reported Sasaki wants to sign sooner out of respect for the other international prospects he has forced to wait.
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