There are three finalists for the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays are the last teams in the running for the 23-year-old per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The phenom has had MLB teams, fans, and other international prospects waiting at the edge of their seats for his decision. Now, that is decision is almost here.
This offseason has been like no other for a few reasons. Namely, Sasaki is limited to every MLB team’s international signing pool.
As easy as it would be for teams to throw the most money at the young pitcher — a skill the Dodgers are no strangers to utilizing this offseason — he is limited to a range of around $5.1 million to $7.5 million.
Because of this restriction, L.A. had to get a little creative.
They — along with the recent non-Sasaki threats, the San Francisco Giants — rank dead last in the league when it comes to bonus pool money at $5.1 million.
The Dodgers are risking their international player future by telling all would-be signings to wait until the 2026 season. In doing so, they can prepare as big of an offer to Sasaki as they can.
Dominican prospect Darell Morel, a shortstop who verbally agreed to sign with Los Angeles, recently changed courses to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This move shows that he was not in love with the idea of waiting another season at the will of another player.
Another team following suit, and another team still in on Sasaki, is the Padres.
San Diego has also reportedly told players to consider being a part of the 2026 class so that the Friars can use every dollar possible to sign Sasaki.
The Dodgers and Padres alike hope that this investment will be totally worth it as they are seriously risking the future talent of many for one.
The one in question, though, is someone Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman thinks can be the best pitcher this sport has ever seen.
“He has talked about his desire to be the best pitcher in the world,” Friedman explained, “and we believe he’s capable of being the best pitcher in the world.”
Last season in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki went 10-5 with an ERA of 2.35. He threw 129 strikeouts to only 32 walks in 111 innings pitched.
