Teams will soon be able to sign one of the best young international pitchers.
According to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, 23, will be posted at MLB’s winter meetings next Tuesday.
Teams will have a 45-day window to try to convince Sasaki to sign with them once the international amateur signing period opens January 15. The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball revealed last month that they would place Sasaki in the posting system.
Since Sasaki isn’t 25 and doesn’t have six years’ experience, he will most likely sign a contract in the $7.5 million range, which is the top bonus pool international amateurs can receive. If he waited two years to come over, he could’ve received a contract similar to Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto: 12 years, $325 million.
“I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post,” Sasaki said in a statement posted by the Marines on X, via ESPN.com. “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.”
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Who are the favorites to land Roki Sasaki?
Even though the Los Angeles Dodgers are the perceived favorites to sign Sasaki, especially since he was teammates with Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in 2023, it’s not “fait accompli” he will land in LA, according to Passan.
“Among the other teams expected to be significant players in the Sasaki sweepstakes: the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants,” notes Passan.
Sasaki, who has been nicknamed “The Monster of the Reiwa Era,” is a very special talent who consistently throws in the triple digits. Over four seasons with the Marines, Sasaki posted a 29-15 record in 64 starts across 394⅔ innings, with a 2.10 ERA, 510 strikeouts, and 88 walks.
Despite Sasaki’s immense gifts, there is concern about his durability. His career high in innings is just 129⅓, and a torn oblique and right arm soreness limited him to 18 starts in 2023.
Related: MLB executive suggests Japanese star Roki Sasaki might sign with surprise team this winter