With Corbin Burnes and Max Fried officially off the market, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is the unquestioned top arm currently without an MLB contract this winter.
Given his age, talent, and the fact that because he’s under 25, he will be governed by international bonus pool restrictions as opposed to whomever offers him the largest contract, just about every Major League front office has done their due diligence on the 23 year old at this point. However, it was confirmed Tuesday that only 20 MLB clubs made concrete offers to acquire his talents.
The method in which those offers were presented varied greatly though. Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe confirmed the Japanese sensation has now returned back to Japan to consider his next steps. This comes on the heels of meeting in person with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and Texas Rangers over the last few weeks.
Other clubs, such as the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox weren’t offered an opportunity to meet in person with Sasaki, but still submitted video presentations to his representatives. According to reports, the highly coveted right hander gave front offices a “homework assignment” as a next step to help inform his decision.
“It was like the Roki film festival,” Wolfe said regarding his client’s many suitors. “He is definitely driving the ship and calling the shots…He’s not coming here to be rich or to get a huge contract. He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest ever. … To be that, he knows he has to challenge himself … “
The Japanese sensation is largely viewed as a generational talent, having already posted a 2.02 career earned run average and 524 strikeouts in just 414.2 innings across four seasons of pro experience overseas.
Sasaki cannot sign with a Major League team until January 15th at the earliest, but has already said that he doesn’t feel the need to immediately put pen to paper. The 2x NPB All-Star will have until January 24th to make a decision before his international posting window officially closes.
While Wolfe & co. haven’t tipped their hand regarding any potential leading candidates, that hasn’t stopped sports books from crowning the Los Angeles Dodgers the presumptive favourites to land Sasaki in 2025.
Roki Sasaki 2025 Team Odds
| Team | Odds | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | +300 | 25.0 |
| San Diego Padres | +350 | 22.2 |
| New York Yankees | +500 | 16.7 |
| New York Mets | +600 | 14.3 |
| Boston Red Sox | +950 | 9.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | +1200 | 7.7 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | +1400 | 6.7 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +1800 | 5.3 |
| The Field | +1500 | 6.3 |
Whomever ultimately acquires Sasaki will be adding a front of the line starter, with an explosive fastball, and multiple years of cost effective team control. And when you add all that up, one has to wonder why it was only 20 of the 30 MLB franchises who wound up submitting an official offer.
Photo: Scinsvche. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.