The Arizona Diamondbacks joined the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets in sending “top executives” to watch Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki this fall, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden and BBWAA reporter Francys Romero reported.
Sasaki is not guaranteed to make his way to Major League Baseball this winter at only 22 years old (will turn 23 next month), as his NPB club (Chiba Lotte) would have to post him.
Should he become available, the right-hander with a triple-digit heater and wicked splitter will become one of the most sought after players of the offseason.
Sasaki took the global stage at the World Baseball Classic, helping Japan win the title with 7.2 innings, three earned runs (3.52 ERA) and 11 strikeouts. He is a two-time NPB All-Star and already has a perfect game on his resume.
In 2024, Sasaki tossed 111 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 32 walks and 129 punch outs. He missed a couple months with arm soreness.
Roki Sasaki struck out nine over eight scoreless innings in Game 1 against the Fighters. pic.twitter.com/O5IsZYR5sB
— Jason Coskrey (@JCoskrey) October 12, 2024
His bidding war would look more like Shohei Ohtani’s in 2017 than Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325 million agreement with the Dodgers last winter. Since Sasaki is younger than 25 years old without the required service time, there are restrictions on him as an international free agent. He would have to sign a minor league contract with international bonus pool money like Ohtani to get his MLB career started early.
Ohtani signed a six-year deal with the Angels worth $2.3 million for his rookie season. His salary did not take a jump until arbitration in 2021, but the two-way star cashed in as a free agent last winter with a $700 million contract from the Dodgers.
The Angels paid a posting fee of $20 million to get him. There have been updates to the posting process, as release fees for minor league contracts will be 25% of the signing bonus plus supplemental fees if the player is added to the MLB roster.
Now that Sasaki’s season is over, he and his club have decisions to make regarding his ability to seek MLB opportunities.
先発の #佐々木朗希 投手、7回無失点7奪三振のピッチングを披露！#chibalotte #MarinesBaseball #MarinesGoodPitch pic.twitter.com/vJ0gfZQ6Yb
— 千葉ロッテマリーンズ (@chibalotte) August 30, 2024
The Diamondbacks may be considered an longshot to sign him if he becomes available, and certainly many more teams have checked in on him than the aforementioned five. But he is an exciting potential answer to rotation questions that are coming up quickly.
Ace Zac Gallen has one more season of team control before hitting free agency, Merrill Kelly has a club option for 2025 before hitting free agency and Jordan Montgomery has a player option.
Eduardo Rodriguez is signed through 2027, while Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson are under team control for the long term as pre-arbitration players. Arizona’s top pitching prospects are Yilber Diaz and Yu-Min Lin.
Sasaki has ace potential, and his status will be closely monitored by clubs and fans alike.