Top 2 Frontrunners Have Emerged for Roki Sasaki

Aside from former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, incoming Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki is the prime pitching free agent still up for grabs, and according to insider Jon Heyman, the race to land him seems to be down to two frontrunners.

He labels the Los Angeles Dodgers (not surprisingly) and the San Diego Padres as the most likely Sasaki sweepstakes winners.

The Dodgers (have) established themselves as the team for Japan’s stars, but Sasaki’s admiration of Padres ace Yu Darvish and a clear path to be their ace gives them a shot.

He also mentions the two New York teams, the Yankees and Mets, as well as the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers as teams that have made themselves factors in Sasaki's decision.

Per Heyman in the New York Post, "One person assessed the Dodgers’ chances as: 'Better than 50/50 but not 100 percent."

The World Series champs already have two other Japanese superstar hurlers in Shohei Ohtani (expected to pitch again in 2025 after taking 2024 off from pitching as he recovered from elbow surgery) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It would undoubtedly be a comfortable place for the 23-year-old Sasaki to make his adjustment to North America.

But as Heyman notes, the 38-year-old Darvish has been a mentor for Sasaki, and the youngster looks up to him. Darvish has been a Padre for four seasons now, and is signed for four more years, through 2028. So that does give San Diego a good shot.

Money is not an issue, as Sasaki is considered an international amateur by MLB and is limited to a minor league contract subject to the international signing bonus pool. The most a team can offer would be $7.5 million, though teams with less money in their bonus pool, like the Dodgers, can only offer just over $5 million.

Sasaki's stats in his time in Japan are insane, with his NPB career featuring a 2.02 ERA, along with 524 strikeouts and 91 walks in just under 415 innings. And oh yes, there was that perfect game he threw in 2022 at the age of 20.