The Los Angeles Dodgers are fresh off the eighth World Series win in franchise history, where their pitching staff played a major factor into their success. Keep in mind, that’s without Shohei Ohtani available to pitch.
Expectations point to Ohtani joining the Dodgers’ rotation at some point in 2025, where he’s joined by fellow Japanese pitching stud Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, the Japanese tandem could soon have another pitching phenom joining them.
Related: 4 Los Angeles Dodgers Free Agent Targets In The Outfield, Including Juan Soto
Roki Sasaki considered ‘one of the greatest pitching prospects ever’
Despite being just 23 years old, MLB scouts have had their eyes on Roki Sasaki for several seasons now. Considering he was able to hit 101 mph on the radar gun as a high schooler, it’s no surprise that the right-hander has developed into a two-time NPB All-Star. Yet now, he’s one of the best pitching prospects in the entire world.
Typically, players as good as Sasaki patiently wait to join MLB because of how the contract structures are formulated. Players who are 25 or older and have six years of experience in a foreign league are allowed to sign a major league contract. But Sasaki is only 23, with five years of experience.
This means instead of landing a massive contract like the 12-year, $325 million contract Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed, Sasaki will only be limited to something more like the one Shohei Ohtani signed, which amounted to $2.3 million.
Yet, that didn’t prevent Sasaki from seeking a chance to be posted as an international free agent anyway, where all 30 MLB teams will be allowed to bid. He reportedly tried to become a free agent last year, but his team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, denied the request.
Now, Sasaki is officially expected to be posted as a free agent at some point this offseason. The biggest question is when. This will determine whether he’s classified as a 2024 or 2025 international free agent class, which only matters due to international spending caps, set at $7.1M for small-market clubs and $4.6M for big-market teams like the Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki is being posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) November 9, 2024
The 23-year-old is one of the greatest pitching prospects ever, and can only sign on a minor league deal with international bonus pool money as a signing bonus.
The Dodgers are considered the heavy favorite. https://t.co/7xjprocniT
Teams can boost their bonus spending pool by 60% via trades, but most organizations have already spent the majority of their international free agent money. This is where the 2024/25 class classification will have an impact. Once Sasaki is officially posted, teams will have 45 days to negotiate.
“I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post,” Sasaki said in a statement posted by the Marines on X. “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.”
Roki Sasaki
Expectations were that his team would hold onto Sasaki for at least two more seasons, so this news comes as a surprise. Yet, there are already teams being linked to the Japanese pitching sensation, and the Dodgers are considered one of the frontrunners.
“Los Angeles will be linked strongly to Sasaki, but assuming he will go to the Dodgers is premature. While the presence of Sasaki’s Samurai Japan teammates Ohtani and Yamamoto in Los Angeles is advantageous, the attention they bring — and the media horde that follows them — adds a different element than other teams.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Roki Sasaki
Other teams linked to Sasaki include the Padres, the big-market New York teams, and several others. As teams put together their offseason gameplan with superstars like Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes on the docket, Sasaki adds yet another intriguing talent into the mix.
Related: MLB Insider Reveals Los Angeles Dodgers Trade Candidate Who Is ‘Odd Man Out’