MLB teams are anxiously awaiting the arrival of young Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, the 22-year-old pitcher who is seen as a surefire superstar when he eventually makes the leap from the Nippon Professional Baseball.
Sasaki already has name recognition and discussions about his impending move to the big leagues is historic in its own right.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto waited until his age-25 season, and Shohei Ohtani was the only Japanese player to ever come over to the United States before being 25 years old when he went at 24 and was limited in how lucrative of a contract he could sign.
But Sasaki has made it known his excitement about transferring to MLB and may not be willing to wait another three years to do so. There has been rampant speculation he is planning an exit this offseason, which would make Sasaki the youngest player in MLB history to go from the NPB to MLB.
As that may be on the horizon, Sasaki reportedly is receiving some direction from Yamamoto’s agent, Joel Wolfe, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post:
And while Japanese players do not normally negotiate with their NPB teams through agents, rumors have long swirled that Wasserman’s Joel Wolfe, who represents Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and San Diego Padres star Yu Darvish, is helping Sasaki through the process and will handle his move to MLB. Wolfe declined to comment for this story.
Sasaki has spoken fondly of Yamamoto in the past, which could be insight into potentially signing with Wolfe of Wasserman as his agent.
The Dodgers are among a long list of teams with reported interest in the right-hander and some view them as the favorite to sign Sasaki once he’s posted for MLB free agency.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto settling in
Yamamoto appears to have settled in after starting his Dodgers career on a rough note.
“Seamlessly. He’s doing great,” Roberts recently said of Yamamoto’s comfort level with the team.
“I think he’s very comfortable, very confident. I think that we were fortunate in the sense that he just trusted us from the beginning. And he has a good support group, he’s learning the league, he’s in a good routine, good rhythm, and he’s pitching really well.”
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