The Japanese phenom has reportedly narrowed his roster of teams to three — the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays, according to an ESPN report — and will make his decision in the coming days, adding a talented arm to a lucky rotation.
“Almost everyone thought he would sign with the Dodgers or Padres as soon as he was named,” one National League executive said. “You can’t count out the Blue Jays because they always seem to be in the mix, but it would be a surprise if he didn’t end up with one of those SoCal teams.”
Sasaki was named by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball on Dec. 9, meaning there must be a resolution no later than next Thursday, when his 45-day window to sign closes.
The 23-year-old right-hander should be a No. 1-2 starter upon his arrival in the Majors, but due to his status as an international amateur free agent, Sasaki will be an extremely profitable starter for whichever team has the chance to sign it.
“If it were to cost $300 million, it would still be a great deal,” the executive said. “But at the price it’s going to cost, he’ll be the best free agent acquisition since (Shohei) Ohtani.”
Ohtani was in a similar situation when he arrived in the Majors in 2018 at the age of 23, signing with the Angels for $2.315 million. Players under the age of 25 who have not reached six years of service in a foreign major league are subject to MLB’s international amateur signing bonus rules, setting a cap on their contracts. Unlike Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million free agent contract with the Dodgers last winter, Sasaki’s deal is expected to pay around $5 million to $6 million.
Assuming Sasaki never spends a day in the minors, he will be under club control through the 2030 season, not reaching the arbitration process until the end of the 2027 campaign.
On Monday, word began to spread that Sasaki had knocked out a number of teams that had thrown their respective hats into the ring for his services. Sources said the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Rangers were among the clubs that had been informed they were no longer in contention, while Giants general manager Zack Minasian confirmed Monday that San Francisco had also been informed that Sasaki was signing elsewhere. .
That left the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays in the running for Sasaki, who owns a 2.02 ERA and 524 strikeouts in 414 2/3 career innings for the Marines.
Where will Sasaki end up? This answer will be revealed soon enough.
