Mike Salas
Rumors are out, that NPB star pitcher Roki Sasaki will be posted after the 2024 NPB season.
Reports from Jon Heyman of the New Yor Post have stated the Dodgers are the front runner if Roki Sasaki comes out in 2025.
Sasaki is entering his third full year in the NPB and could be available for posting at the end of the 2024 season. According to the current posting rules and MLB collective bargaining agreement, Sasaki would be viewed as an international amateur and eligible to enter MLB on a minor league contract with a signing bonus.
Roki Sasaki is a 22-year-old right-handed starter, drafted in 2019 by the Chiba Lotte Marines and made his debut in the NPB in 2021. In his first full year in the Marines’ rotation, Sasaki recorded a 2.20 ERA and 1.70 FIP, striking out 35.3% of hitters while walking just 4.7% in 129 1/3 innings. Sasaki became the 16th pitcher in the history of NPB to pitch a perfect game last April and followed up the performance by throwing eight more perfect innings in his next outing, before getting pulled with 102 pitches. In the 17 perfect innings, Sasaki struck out 33 of the 51 batters faced. Sasaki has a three-pitch mix, a fastball that averages between 99-101mph and tops out at 104mph, a devastating splitter, and a slider.
So far in the NPB 2024 season Sasaki’s numbers are down slightly from 2022 and 2023. He seems to be a little more conservative with throwing 100+ MPH fastballs and concentrating on quality of pitches and stamina. In 2023, Sasaki had issues with stamina and blisters on his throwing hand that kept him out of starts, so a slight dip in his numbers is understandable. So far, Sasaki has pitched 53.2IP with a stat line of 37H / 2HR / 18BB / 61SO / 13ER / 2.18ERA.
Sasaki has been linked to the Dodgers when pictures of Andrew Friedman surfaced being at Chiba Lotte Marines spring training practice. Roki Sasaki has been linked to Yoshinobu Yamamoto mentoring Sasaki when they played in the NPB, along with Shohei Ohtani and Sasaki being teammates in last year’s WBC. These relationships could be factors for the Dodgers if Sasaki is posted or becomes available in 2025. The Dodgers have stated that they are interested in Sasaki and have the international bonus pool money to sign him on a minor league contract.
I have written an earlier article on how it works if Sasaki is posted early and does not enter the MLB as a free agent. Dodgers News: Roki Sasaki to the Dodgers? – DodgersBeat
There are many questions when it comes to Sasaki. Is Roki Sasaki a good fit for the Dodgers in 2025 if he is posted? How many teams will go after him? Is the Padres his number one choice, because of his relationship with Yu Darvish? The biggest question, does Sasaki have a clause in his current contract that will allow him to be posted? Details of his current one-year contract with Chipolte Lotte Marines are still unknown.
