The list of top starting pitchers available in free agency is dwindling as Spring Training approaches, and much of the focus is centered around Roki Sasaki.
Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in December, but his timeline stretched into the 2025 international signing period. That opens on Jan. 15, and Sasaki’s 45-day window ends on Jan. 23, which is a hard deadline for his decision.
The Japanese right-hander has been pursued by nearly every team in Major League Baseball, with the Los Angeles Dodgers being the presumed favorites.
Sasaki is believed to have met with the Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, New York Mets and New York Yankees. He’s since returned to Japan to mull over next steps.
There’s a belief Sasaki and his agency will arrange for another round of visits and potential trips to specific cities.
“I’m not able to say at this time,” answered general manager Brandon Gomes when asked if the Dodgers had a second meeting scheduled with Sasaki.
“I hope so.”
Prior to taking meetings, agent Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Media Group sent out guidelines of what information each interested team would have to submit for consideration. Details otherwise have been sparse.
What Wolfe did reveal during a recent update was Sasaki requested current players not be part of the team meetings. For the Dodgers, that of course was most notable with respect to fellow Japanese natives Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Even with the Dodgers signing Blake Snell and expecting a handful of returning starters, Sasaki is a priority for them over the next two-plus weeks.
Roki Sasaki ‘wants to be great’
Wolfe recently spoke fairly candidly about his client and what Sasaki wants for himself. Going over the strong talent profile that he possesses, the driving piece to what the right-hander has is a desire to be one of the best in MLB.
Sasaki’s arsenal, elite stuff and solid track record in Nippon Professional Baseball make him another unbelievably intriguing player coming over from Japan. If Sasaki wanted to solely cash in on a big contract, he could have waited out amateur free agent rules and been posted at a later date.
Sasaki is a different case, he is also betting on himself that he will perform against the best players in the world with an organization that will fully develop his skills.
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