Star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki to be posted
Major League Baseball's offseason just got a lot more interesting.
The Chiba Lotte Marines announced Saturday that star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki will be posted at some point this winter, opening the door for the 23-year-old to sign with any organization.
Sasaki will be considered an international free agent because of his age and will only be permitted to sign a minor-league deal, similar to when Shohei Ohtani came to the United States.
"Since I joined the (Marines), the team has been listening to my thoughts about my future challenge in the MLB, and I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post now," Sasaki said in a club-issued statement.
Sasaki added, "I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world, so that I will have no regrets in my one and only baseball career and so that I can live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me this time."
The Dodgers - who employ Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto - are expected to be strongly linked to Sasaki, while the San Diego Padres, both New York teams, the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Rays could all be potential landing spots, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports.
Sasaki will have a 45-day window to sign once he's posted, the timing of which will determine whether he falls under the 2024 or 2025 international amateur class. Signing periods run annually from Jan. 15 to Dec. 15.
The amount of international bonus pool money a team has to spend is tied to its payroll, revenue, and market size.
Most teams have already spent their bonus pool money for the 2024 period. For 2025, smaller clubs are expected to max out at $7.5 million, while big spenders paying the luxury tax will only have around $5.1 million. The majority of clubs will fall somewhere in between.
Bonus pool money can be acquired via trade.
Sasaki will draw interest from just about every team as a dynamic arm with prodigious potential. His fastball regularly sits near 100 mph, as seen during his start for Japan against Mexico at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The young right-hander went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings for the Marines this past season.