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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to be officially posted at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings next week, sources told ESPN on Saturday, opening a 45-day window in which teams will try to convince him to choose them once the international amateur signing period opens Jan. 15.
Sasaki, 23, is widely regarded as one of the world’s most talented pitchers. His team in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Chiba Lotte Marines, announced Nov. 9 that they planned to place him in the posting system, the method of transfer between NPB and MLB teams. The window is expected to open Tuesday, sources said.
Because MLB rules dictate that foreign professionals under 25 years old and with fewer than six years’ experience must sign as international amateurs, Sasaki’s contract will be for a fraction of what he would receive as a major league free agent.
The ability for teams to secure a potential front-line starter on a steep discount is expected to lead to a furious recruitment of Sasaki. In the capped international-amateur system, the top bonus pools are around $7.5 million and the bottom around $5.1 million, with a team able to trade for up to an additional 60% of its pool money.
While Sasaki could sign before the expiration of the current international-amateur period that ends Dec. 15, he plans to do so after Jan. 15, when the new period opens. Most teams have committed their pools to teenage prospects from Latin America, but those agreements are non-binding, and whichever team Sasaki chooses will be faced with a conundrum on how to handle those verbal agreements.
Teams believe Sasaki is worth the turbulence. With a triple-digit fastball, arguably the best split-fingered fastball in the world and a slider, his quality and array of pitches is among the game’s best. With the Marines this year, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts, 32 walks and two home runs allowed over 111 innings. Over the course of his four-year career, Sasaki is 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts against 88 walks in 394⅔ innings.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers have long been linked to Sasaki — and will remain so, with his Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto integral parts of their 2024 World Series-winning team — him joining them is no fait accompli. Among the other teams expected to be significant players in the Sasaki sweepstakes: the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.
Other teams could emerge in the process. When Ohtani was posted — like Sasaki, he forewent the riches of full free agency and signed for $2.3 million — the Los Angeles Angels, with whom he eventually signed, were not among the favorites. When Ohtani was posted, teams submitted written materials to outline their plans for him, then the field of contenders was narrowed before he chose the Angels.
While the details with Sasaki will differ, there is expected to be a similar process to determine his ultimate destination.