The highly regarded Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki has stated on Instagram that he plans to join with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the winners of the World Series. As many baseball officials have long anticipated, Sasaki, a 23-year-old right-hander with a fastball that can reach 100 mph, will join fellow Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.
It was reported that Sasaki, who has until next Thursday to negotiate a contract, is still being pursued by the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays. In Japanese, Sasaki posted, “I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.” It was a really tough choice, but when I reflect on my baseball career, I will try my best to feel that this was the right one. I want to show my appreciation for everyone who has helped me by wearing my Dodgers uniform during my press conference to join the team. The Dodgers had up to $5,146,200 in their international signing bonus pool when Sasaki made his announcement, but they could make trades the next week to boost that figure by as much as 60%.
Arnaldo Lantigua, a 19-year-old minor league outfielder, was traded by Los Angeles to the Cincinnati Reds in return for international cap space just hours after the news broke. In 49 games last season in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League, Lantigua batted.301 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. Sasaki’s transition to Major League Baseball may be made easier by the Dodgers’ intention to employ a six-man rotation. as the Dodgers try to win the championship twice in a row for the first time since the New York Yankees in 1998 and 2000.
As part of the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League made Sasaki available to MLB teams for a 45-day term. Sasaki is only eligible for a minor league contract that is subject to the signing pools because he is under 25 and lacks six years of NPB service time, making him an international amateur in MLB’s eyes.
A release fee equal to 25% of Sasaki’s signing bonus will be paid to the Marines. Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, disputed that an agreement with the Dodgers was already in place during a press conference held during the winter meetings last month. The media, the league, and the NPB all talked a lot about Roki’s predicament,” Wolfe stated. “Some false claims and allegations of prearranged deals and similar matters were made. However, MLB conducted their research and spoke with a number of stakeholders in advance to ensure that this would be a fair and level playing field for everyone, as they rightfully wanted to do.
During a season marred by shoulder inflammation, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings. After suffering an oblique injury in 2023, he made 15 starts and finished 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA.
