Roki Sasaki was officially posted for MLB Free agency by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Dec. 10, and since then, he has been meeting with interested clubs.
Sasaki has already met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants, and more should take place soon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are both expected to meet with Sasaki at some point as they have been considered the clubs with the best chances to land the phenom.
While the Padres have some intriguing factors working for them, the Dodgers have long been considered and still remain the favorites to sign Sasaki, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
The Dodgers remain favored, followed by the Padres. The Dodgers established themselves as the team for Japan’s stars, but Sasaki’s admiration of Padres ace Yu Darvish and a clear path to be their ace gives them a shot.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed Sasaki is a “major priority” for his club, and they have long coveted the 23-year-old right-hander.
However, it is not a situation where they can blow away other teams with their financial resources as they’ve done with others. Sasaki is subject to the international signing rules for amateur players because he does not have six years of professional experience and he’s under 25 years old.
That means his contract is capped at what teams have available in their international bonus pool. When the 2025 international signing period begins, eight teams will have $7.55 million available, six teams will have just shy of $7 million, and no team has less than $5.1 million available.
However, the Dodgers are one of the clubs with just $5.1 million available.
The good news for them is Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, has advised him to focus on the fit with his next club, rather than the money he will receive.
Sasaki is also said to have been following MLB closely over the past few seasons, keeping track of each team’s success with winning, developing pitchers and helping other Japanese stars accumulate themselves at the Major League level. All those things bode well for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers also present potential endorsement opportunities that other teams can’t due to their already large presence in Japan and all their games being broadcasted there.
There is currently a freeze on international signings, which began on Dec. 16 and lasts until Jan. 15, 2025, and he will only have until Jan. 23 to sign a contract because international free agents are given 45 days from their posting date to sign a deal.
Andrew Friedman praises Roki Sasaki
Friedman believes that Sasaki has an extremely high ceiling due to the drive and talent he possesses, and they believe he can become the best pitcher in the world.
The right-hander is making his way to MLB after four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in which he had a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts in 394.2 innings. Sasaki was also a two-time All-Star.
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