LA’s Sasaki’s Surge: Dodgers Make Late Push to Sign Japanese Ace, Emerges as…
Despite having already signed Blake Snell to a five-year contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly remain in the market for starting pitching and in particular with Roki Sasaki.
The right-hander is expected to be posted for MLB free agency within the next couple of weeks and sign as part of the 2025 international signing period that opens Jan. 15.
The Dodgers have long been speculated as the heavy favorite for Sasaki, with the San Diego Padres often mentioned as a potential landing spot as well because of his relationship with Yu Darvish.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, while an abundance of teams will look to make their pitch, the consensus remains Sasaki’s decision is going to be to sign with the Dodgers.
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. 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.
The 23-year-old will be subject to international signing rules as an amateur free agent rather than entering MLB free agency with no limitations on his contract. In theory, that is going to amount to seemingly every club having somewhat of an equal opportunity once Sasaki is posted.
The Dodgers have the largest amount of bonus pool money remaining for the 2024 international period at $2.5 million. That was widely perceived to be earmarked for Sasaki in the event he suddenly became available, which wasn’t known to be the case until last month.
But with Sasaki not joining a team until the 2025 international signing period begins Jan. 15, the Dodgers won’t hold that same financial advantage. Their bonus pool will nevertheless increase, however, to $5.1 million.
The Dodgers could still be appealing to Sasaki for other reasons, such as their recent success and geographical location. He could also be intrigued by the idea of reuniting with 2023 World Baseball Classic teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Roki Sasaki’s agent upset with Dodgers narrative
Amid speculation surrounding Sasaki and a perceived handshake agreement with the Dodgers, agent Joel Wolfe recently voiced his frustration over the matter and said all teams would be evaluated equally.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the league would launch an investigation if there was an under-the-table agreement between Sasaki and a team, whether it be the Dodgers or otherwise.
