The 2025 international signing period is set to begin on Jan. 15, which is the day Roki Sasaki is officially allowed to sign with an MLB club.
Sasaki will have until Jan. 23 to pick his team, giving him just over a week to make his decision.
He has already began the process of eliminating teams with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs all being told they’re out of the running.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have long been favored to sign him, and they may be moving closer to doing so.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Dodgers are one of three finalists for Sasaki, along with the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays:
The finalists for Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN. Sasaki will decide on his team by the closing of his posting window Jan. 23.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2025
The Padres have been the team most often connected to Sasaki other than the Dodgers, but the Blue Jays come as somewhat of a surprise.
Toronto did, however, have a meeting with Sasaki at their home stadium. It is unclear if the Dodgers or Padres have met with Sasaki at their stadiums, but it is likely to happen if it hasn’t already.
The Dodgers and Padres have already been busy trying to re-work their commitments with prospects in the 2025 international class, and for L.A., that has included losing out on two of their commitments already.
Of the three teams still in the mix, the Padres and Blue Jays are tied with $6,261,600 in international pool money, while the Dodgers have $5,146,200. As things currently stand, those are the max bids they can put in on Sasaki.
However, once the new signing period opens on Jan. 15, teams can acquire more funds via trade, up to 60% of their current total.
Sasaki is said to be prioritizing fit more than his signing bonus, but he is likely to command the full amount a team has available regardless.
The Dodgers have made Sasaki their top priority with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said they are willing to do whatever they can to sign him.
Whether they get him remains to be seen, but the Dodgers appear to be in a good spot to sign the pitcher they believe has the talent to become the best in the world.
Dave Roberts makes pitch to Roki Sasaki & Japanese free agents
Manager Dave Roberts, who was born in Naha, Okinawa, Japan, believes the Dodgers have some unique advantages when it comes to signing players from the country.
“I think the infrastructure of Japanese speakers on the staff, Minor League staff, training staff, front office, baseball operations side of things. We really have that covered,” Roberts began.
“I think our relationship with the country itself; we’ve built a lot of relationships with Japanese players in the last 30 years. Obviously, you talk about Los Angeles, there’s little Tokyo, there’s a very good Asian — specifically Japanese — community.
“I think the weather is very conducive to sort of, not necessarily Hokkaido and northern Japan, but Tokyo and down south, the West Coast being closer to Japan. The fanbase. I think that players that come over want to win. I think we’re built to win now and for a long time.”
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