MLB News: 23-Year-Old Japanese Pitcher Roki Sasaki Declines NPB Contract Offer (Sports)
November 5, 2024
23 year old Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki could be the next star pitcher from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) to make the jump over to the United States in the MLB. Sasaki has been on the MLB radar for some time and is one of the best pitching prospects in the world. He easily hits triple digit pitches with a nasty splitter, and put his skill on display when he pitched for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Sasaki reportedly asked the Chiba Lotte Marines (his current NPB team) to post him for MLB free agency last offseason, but the team declined his request. He would end up returning to the Marines on a one-year contract, and as of now the team has not been able to work out a new deal, which could lead to him being posted for MLB free agency this offseason.
MLB’s posting system requires foreign players to have played at least six professional seasons or be at least 25 years old to be eligible to the typical MLB free agency without any restrictions. If the 23 year old Sasaki is posted this off season his contract would be capped and would have to settle for a limited signing bonus and a minor league contract similar to Shohei Ohtani when he left NPB. Sasaki wouldn’t be able to sign a massive 12-year, $325M type of deal similar to what Yoshinobu Yamamoto did last off-season. He will need to have a few more years of playing professionally before he can earn a monster contract.
If Sasaki is posted, the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to make a move for him and seem to be the favorites to sign him. Sasaki would have restrictions to his free agency, and because of that there will be no bidding war for his services. Teams who are in need of strong starting pitching wouldn’t be able to break the bank to pry themselves away from other teams who don’t have the money to offer. All teams will be on an even playing field and will only be able to offer similar signing bonuses and contracts.
The Dodgers already have Ohtani and Yamamoto, so it might be more appealing for Sasaki to sign with the team to make it easier for him to assimilate to a new country and culture with fellow countrymen on the same team.
102 MPH from Roki Sasaki! 😱 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/88UdKCkYGV
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 20, 2023
Roki Sasaki, 92mph Splitter and 102mph Fastball, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/EIf8bh6Qdf
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 21, 2023
Roki Sasaki's Disgusting Offspeed Stuff. 😳
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 20, 2023
Good luck.
And, yes, he's 21 years old. pic.twitter.com/s7G2H8rFgT