The bidding for Japanese star Roki Sasaki is about to begin, as the hard-throwing right-hander was officially posted to Major League Baseball teams and will be available to sign as a free agent starting Tuesday.
Having been posted by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki will have 45 days to negotiate, with his signing period running through 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 23.
Sasaki, 23, won’t be in line for a huge payday with this first MLB contract. Foreign professionals under 25 and with fewer than six years’ experience are limited in what they can earn, meaning Sasaki won’t be in line to match the 12-year, $325 million contract Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December.
Sasaki is viewed as having one of the top young arms in the world with a 100-mph fastball and outstanding sinker.
In 2024 with the Marines, he was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 32 walks in 111 innings. In four years, Sasaki has thrown 394 2/3 innings and has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA, 505 strikeouts and 88 walks.
“I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post,” Sasaki said in a Nov. 9 statement posted by the Marines on the social platform X. “There were many things that did not go well during my five years with the Marines, but I was able to get to this point by concentrating only on baseball, with the support of my teammates, staff, front office, and fans. 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 live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me.”
Several MLB teams are expected to pursue the services of Sasaki, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, per ESPN.
Whichever team lands Sasaki will have to pay the Marines a posting fee equal to 25 percent of the signing bonus.
–Field Level Media
