Cody Snavely
According to multiple sources, the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes are officially over. The 23-year-old righty from Japan is set to agree to a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, adding another dominant arm to an already deep starting rotation.
Major League Baseball insider Mike Rodriguez initially reported the deal, stating that an agreement between Sasaki and the Dodgers was close. Jeff Passan of ESPN later confirmed the report.
It was revealed earlier this week that the final three teams interested in Sasaki’s services were the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, and the San Diego Padres. This eliminated several other teams that were confirmed to have met with the Japanese ace.
All three teams had their second meeting with Sasaki, with the righty heading to all three cities and the teams’ respective fields. Photos of Sasaki at Petco Park during his meeting with the Padres were also circulated over the internet.
Unlike the first round of meetings, where it was just Sasaki, his representatives, and people in the front office, this next wave would include multiple players, coaches, and trainers who would all throw their last attempt to sway Sasaki and his agent, Joel Wolfe.
However, the news started to accelerate earlier today when Francys Romero reported that the San Diego Padres were out of the Sasaki sweepstakes and set to sign their international signings of Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, led by President of Baseball Operations Andrew Freidman, let the world know that they saw Sasaki as a major priority when the righty was posted during the 2024 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, back in December.
Over the last two seasons, the Dodgers have grown not only domestically but also internationally, largely due to their signing of two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani last winter along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers laid the seeds for Sasaki, bringing in his Japan teammates from the World Baseball Classic, setting up a six-man rotation, and providing him with multiple avenues to recoup all the potential lost money with his coming to the United States early.
Sasaki likely caps off what was already a tremendous offseason for the defending World Series Champions. There may still be a few more moves left to make as the team hopes to become the first back-to-back champion in more than twenty years.
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