The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are nearing a conclusion as the 2025 international signing period is due to open on Wednesday and multiple teams have already been informed they no longer are in the running.
According to reports, the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers were informed Sasaki would not sign with them. Each of the aforementioned teams previously met with Sasaki at Wasserman’s offices in Southern California las month.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays remain as the group of Sasaki finalists.
According to Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Dodgers are scheduled to have another meeting with Sasaki heading into the final eight-day stretch for his decision:
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the latest of the three finalists to meet with Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, hoping to secure one last pitch Tuesday with the 23-year-old right-hander, league sources told The Athletic on Tuesday.
Unlike their first time getting to formally meet with Sasaki, the Dodgers’ visit on Tuesday will include current players:
The Dodgers’ pitch, sources said, is expected to feature several of their stars.
It previously was reported that Sasaki visited the Blue Jays in Toronto last week and that was followed by a trip to San Diego over the weekend. Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Manny Machado were among the players reportedly on hand to pitch the Padres to Sasaki.
That was a change from the initial round of team meetings, as Sasaki requested no current players be on hand for those.
The Dodgers have $5,146,200 in bonus pool money to offer Sasaki. The Padres and Blue Jays can offer the most money as they are tied with $6,261,600 in international bonus pool space.
Teams are permitted to acquire up to an additional 60% of their original bonus pool total via trade.
Which Dodgers players will be at Roki Sasaki meeting?
It’s presumed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be part of the Dodgers’ contingent. Ohtani and Yamamoto played with Sasaki on Team Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani previously said he would not pressure the young right-hander into signing with the Dodgers and planned to respect his decision.
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