Cody Snavely
With less than forty-five days until pitchers and catchers offically report to their respective camps in February, multiple key free agents are still available on the open market. However, one young star will finally be eligible to sign with a team this week: Rōki Sasaki.
The 23-year-old star Japanese right-handed starting pitcher will offically be able to sign with Major League clubs beginning Wednesday, January 15th, and will have until the 23rd to decide or risk returning to the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB).
Sasaki was offically posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on December 9th, 2024, on day two of the 2024 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, opening up a forty-five-day window for Sasaki and his agent, Joel Wolfe, to negotiate with teams and decide where Sasaki will be taking his talents.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of a number of teams that have expressed interest in signing the young Japanese phenom. Over the last few days, the organization has informed some of its international projected signees to consider signing in the 2026 international signing period. The reason is that the Dodgers intend to use most, if not all, of their projected $5 million 2025 international pool money on Sasaki.
Darrell Morel, a shortstop who was expected to sign with the Dodgers during this signing period, recently inked a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates instead, and the same thing happened with Orlando Patiño will return to the market and look to sign elsewhere, according to Francys Romero.
However, the Dodgers are not alone in their bid for the 23-year-old star. Due to his age, talent, and classification as an amateur international free agent, Sasaki is essentially affordable to every Major League Baseball team.
That said, plenty of factors will still go into Sasaki’s decision, which, according to Major League Baseball insider Jon Morosi, could be as early as this weekend.
Among those competing with the Dodgers are the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and the Toronto Blue Jays, who reportedly met with Sasaki this past week.
For those still unfamiliar with Sasaki’s game, the young 23-year-old righty has a record of 30-15 with a 2.02 ERA in 414.2 innings pitched in his four seasons in the NPB. He got a taste of Major League talent when he helped Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The Dodgers, despite being loaded already in the pitching department, would still like to add one more starter to complete their planned six-man rotation, and the idea of a trifecta of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Rōki Sasaki will do numbers in terms of dollars and viewership.
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