Whether it’s Juan Soto, Elly De La Cruz, Shohei Ohtani or many others, some of Major League Baseball’s best and most exciting players have arrived as international signings. This year, another potential superstar is set to join MLB from overseas.
That would be Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old pitching prodigy from Japan who once came one inning short of hurling back-to-back perfect games, a feat never accomplished by any other pitcher in MLB or in the Japanese pro leagues.
A reported 20 teams have been competing to sign Sasaki, with at least seven holding in-person meetings with the young righty whose fastball has been clocked as high as 102 mph. Approximately 13 others have submitted written proposals to Sasaki and his American agent Joel Wolfe.
Sasaki was posted — that is, made officially available for MLB teams — on Dec. 10. Under the rules agreed upon by MLB and the Japanese leagues, he has 45 days to pick a team and agree to contract terms. That gives Sasaki until Jan. 23 to make up his mind. If he misses that deadline, he must stay in Japan, where he would continue to pitch for his current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League.
MLB’s international signing period does not open until Wednesday, giving Sasaki a window of just over a week to sign. Who will he choose?
The Los Angeles Dodgers have generally been considered the favorites to land Sasaki, followed by the San Diego Padres, mainly due to both teams being located on the West Coast, in closer proximity to Sasaki’s home in Japan, and the presence of Japanese star players on each team. The Padres feature veteran pitcher Yu Darvish, who is entering his 13th MLB season. The reigning World Series champion Dodgers boast 2024 National League MVP Shohei Ohtani and star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
