Sasaki announces deal with Dodgers
Published
Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki announced on social media on Friday that he has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sasaki joins fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the reigning World Series champions.
Earlier this week, reports indicated the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Padres were the three finalists to sign the 23-year-old. On Friday morning, multiple reports indicated the Padres were out, leaving L.A. and Toronto as the two finalists. He met with all three teams recently, including with the Jays in Toronto last week, as confirmed by TSN Blue Jays Reporter Scott Mitchell.
Sasaki is the No. 2 player on TSN’s Top 75 MLB Free Agents list released in November and arrives in North America with about as much anticipation as any Japanese starter ever.
Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Dec. 9. In doing so, the team and player will likely receive far less money than they would have if they waited two more years when he reached the age of 25 and was no longer subject to MLB's international signing rules. His free agency would have likely played out similar to Dodgers star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal last winter at the age of 25. Instead, he is only eligible for a signing bonus and must stay under team control for six seasons, similar to Shohei Ohtani when he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.
Each team was capped at the signing bonus they were eligible to offer Sasaki.
Sasaki showcases a fastball that can reach over 100 mph and a strong split-finger fastball, which he used to dominate at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
He struck out 11 in 7.2 innings for Japan, finishing as one of three players from that team in the top four in strikeouts across the tournament. He had a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings for Chiba last season.