The Chiba Lotte Marines ended months of speculation by announcing Roki Sasaki would be posted as an MLB international free agent before the start of the 2025 season.
Sasaki is just 23 years old and didn’t reach six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, therefore subject to international signing rules as an amateur free agent rather than entering MLB free agency with no limitations on his contract.
Thus, every team presumably is going to make a pitch for the coveted right-hander, but consensus around the sport is the Los Angeles Dodgers are heavily favored to sign Sasaki.
The Dodgers have the largest remaining international signing bonus pool left at $2.5 million, meaning they could make the biggest contract offer.
Sasaki reportedly wanted to be posted last offseason but the Marines declined to comply with the request. He signed a one-year contract and is believed to have rejected multiple offers this past season to remain under team control with the Marines.
Sasaki is expected to be represented by agent Joel Wolfe of Wasserman. Wolfe has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, Kodai Senga, Seiya Suzuki, Giancarlo Stanton and Nolan Arenado among his other clients.
Roki Sasaki statement on being posted
Despite somewhat of a rocky ending to his time with the Marines, Sasaki expressed his gratitude for the team while looking ahead to the future.
“I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post,” Sasaki said in a statement shared by Chiba Lotte. “There were many things that did not go well during my five years with the Marines, but I was able to get to this point by concentrating only on baseball, with the support of my teammates, staff, front office, and fans.
“I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world, so that I will have no regrets in my one and only baseball career and live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
