Coveted Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki announces he is signing with the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers, a franchise that has made clear its intentions to take over the Japanese market, have – unsurprisingly – secured its latest marquee addition.

Roki Sasaki, the remarkable 23-year-old Japanese pitcher, announced he was signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Instagram; he received a $6.5 million signing bonus, according to a league source. The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s Japanese team, will receive an assignment fee equal to 25% of the signing bonus from the acquiring MLB team.

Roki Sasaki announced on Instagram that he has signed with the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/bYbOkmU82R

-Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 17, 2025

Sasaki is both a bargain and a coup for a franchise that committed more than $1 billion last winter to Japanese-born superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The franchise has spent much of the past few years dreaming of embracing an Asian market it has historically dominated, leveraging business relationships in the region to help maximize its revamped roster.

Welcome to Los Angeles and World Champion Los Angeles @Dodgers Roki Sasaki! It’s a great day to be a Dodgers fan! 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/UtExlQEmP0

-Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 18, 2025

At his age and talent level, Sasaki fits perfectly into a Dodgers club that was already planning to field a six-man rotation this upcoming season. It was an obvious opportunity for the Dodgers to sign a player they had coveted for years and who seemed destined to land in Los Angeles before he was even officially assigned. The day the pitcher was released, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the silent part out loud: signing Sasaki was a “major priority” for the defending World Series champions, and in the industry-wide, the Dodgers were widely considered the favorites. land the launcher.

Sasaki ranked third player on Athletics Big Board Free Agent, behind only Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes.

255 seconds of Rōki Sasaki stuff from the WBC.

“The next big thing.” #RokiLaRocket pic.twitter.com/Mu0ye8iGf3

– Rob Friedman (@PichingNinja) December 22, 2023

Unlike those two stars, Sasaki’s income was restricted because he was an international amateur. Clubs could only sign him using their international bonus pools, making him a financial asset to each team.

Additionally, interested teams were hoping he could arrive ready to be a front-line starter. With a 100 mph fastball and a devastating splitter, Sasaki profiles as a potential ace. So the initial list of potential suitors was long.

Once Sasaki was released at baseball’s Winter Meetings in December, 20 teams submitted documents about their organizations for the right-hander and Wasserman, his agency, to review. The San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Dodgers were among the teams reportedly receiving a meeting in person.

On January 13, the field was narrowed to three finalists: the Padres, Blue Jays and Dodgers. In the final days leading up to Sasaki’s decision, two of those finalists took divergent paths. The Padres, after telling their international commits to look elsewhere, began trying to assemble their class with the signing of left-hander Carlos Alvarez. The Blue Jays, for their part, agreed to center fielder Myles Straw’s contract with the Cleveland Guardians to get $2 million more to add to their bonus pool, presumably to make a run at Sasaki.

The Dodgers also looked to boost their chances, trading outfield prospect Dylan Campbell to the Philadelphia Phillies in an effort to free up more bonus space for the Sasaki signing, a league source confirmed to Athletics (news of this deal came out after Sasaki publicly chose the Dodgers). Sasaki now joins a rotation that already added two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell this winter and also plans to include Tyler Glasnow, Yamamoto, Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw — among others — as the Dodgers defend their title.

The intense interest in Sasaki reflects its unique position in the market. Most international prospects are teenagers. Most domestic free agents are around 30 years old. Clubs considered Sasaki a special opportunity because of his age and talent.

“He reminds me of Jacob deGrom,” said an industry source. “He would become a No. 1.”

However, given Sasaki’s age, it is likely that the clubs’ track record in player development and their specific plan to advance his career weighed during the selection process. While the Dodgers have successfully developed several homegrown arms into the big leagues, a rash of pitching injuries in 2024 led Friedman himself to call for a self-audit of the club’s development and injury prevention processes. Earlier this winter, general manager Brandon Gomes said those conversations had already begun.

Pitching in Nippon Professional Baseball last season, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 1.036 WHIP. He struck out 129 and walked 32 in 111 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines. Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, confirmed that Sasaki suffered from shoulder inflammation and pain as well as an oblique injury last season. In four NPB seasons, Sasaki had a 2.10 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.

Sasaki could have waited until he was 25 to sign for more money and not be limited by international bonus allocations. That’s what Yamamoto did during the 2023-24 offseason, and he signed for $325 million last winter. Sasaki didn’t want to wait for a chance to play in MLB, however.

“Roki is by no means a finished product,” Wolfe said in late December. “He knows it and the teams know it. He is incredibly talented. We all know it. But he’s a guy who wants to be great. He doesn’t come here just to be rich or to get a big contract. He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest of all time.

Hours after the Sasaki deal, the Dodgers announced they had traded outfielder Arnaldo Lantigua to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for $1.5 million in international signing bonus money. Lantigua, 19, hit .301 with 11 home runs in 49 games for the Rookie-DSL Dodgers Mega last season. He was part of the Dodgers’ 2023 signing class.

(Photo: Éric Espada / Getty Images)