Sasaki Silently Signs: Rumors Suggest the Japanese Ace May Have Already Agree to Terms With an MLB Team

The rumors have been swirling around Roki Sasaki all offseason and with the winter meetings around the corner, the wind is picking up.

Sasaki isn’t expected to be posted until at least Jan. 15, but one baseball insider reports that the Japanese free agent might already know which team he is going to sign with.

“The conversation about Sasaki echoes what was said about Shohei Ohtani when he was first made available for an MLB deal — all teams will do their due diligence, prepare a sales pitch, get their power points and highlight videos ready, because Sasaki is so great and, at this stage of his career, so affordable,” says ESPN’s Buster Olney. “Teams don’t know the player, and don’t know what he really wants. But there is widespread industry belief — correct or not — that Sasaki has probably already picked a team, and it’s most likely the Dodgers. All of these clubs will go through the process, however, and at the end, a lot of execs are going to complain that it was a waste of their time.”

Olney’s colleague, Jeff Passan, isn’t assuming anything just yet.

“The industry should not forget about the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. Nor forget that when Ohtani’s free agent process was playing out, the Los Angeles Angels were never mentioned among the favorites.”

Multiple industry sources have informed baseball reporter Francys Romero that the San Diego Padres are in a “strong position” to sign Japanese free-agent pitcher Roki Sasaki. Romero shared this update on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports told Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain recently stated something similar.

“People thought he was going to sign with the Dodgers, that was a done deal,” Nightengale said. “Obviously, the agent Joel Wolfe denies that. The Dodgers deny that. So, everybody wants him. He’s a great young talent. Scouts will say he’s better than Yamamoto or Ohtani — he’s raw, but not proven yet. If he doesn’t sign with the Dodgers, I think he goes to the Padres. Padres are very hopeful, cautiously optimistic. I can’t see him going anywhere else.”

The competition for Sasaki has reportedly been between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres for quite some time. It seems like there is a new favorite every day but the baseball world truly won’t know which team he signs with until it actually happens in 2025.