• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
DEADLINE EXTENDED: The Best Employers in Sports survey is now open through Nov. 13 Learn More

Why 23-Year-Old Phenom Roki Sasaki Will Be MLB’s Biggest Bargain

The placement of the 23-year-old pitcher into MLB’s international amateur free agent system makes the race to sign him a more level playing field. 

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki is being posted for entry to Major League Baseball, a move destined to help reshape the league’s offseason hot stove period. 

Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines said Saturday that they will make the 23-year-old Sasaki available to MLB teams, bringing one of the game’s top young talents into the open market. Already with four seasons of pro experience in Japan, Sasaki boasts a 2.02 career earned run average and has struck out 524 batters in just 414.2 innings—totals boosted by a blazing fastball that has topped 102 miles per hour coupled with a wipeout slider. He also has pitched a perfect game. 

Because of Sasaki’s age, he will be classified as an international amateur free agent and be subject to bonus pool limits imposed on MLB teams. That structure will mean his initial MLB contract will be no larger than seven figures in size, and he will be under club control through the 2030 season. The team that acquires Sasaki will pay the Marines a posting fee equal to 20% of his contract’s guaranteed value. 

That situation differs materially from the 12-year, $325 million contract the Dodgers signed late last year with fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was 25 at the time of his deal. But Sasaki’s path does resemble that of Shohei Ohtani, who initially signed with the Angels in 2017 for a $2.3 million bonus and a league-minimum salary that, at the time, was $545,000 per season.

As a result, nearly every MLB team is in play to land Sasaki. That will be particularly true if Sasaki is posted in mid-December or later. The current international signing period runs through Dec. 15, but a new one for 2025 starts a month later, when all clubs will have a full complement of bonus pools. 

If Sasaki is posted sooner, though, the Dodgers would have a clear advantage, as they still have $2.5 million left in their 2024 bonus pool, more than any other MLB club. A specific timetable for the posting, however, has not been determined. Had Chiba Lotte waited another two years, they would have received a much larger posting fee, similar to the more than $60 million the Orix Buffaloes received after Yamamoto joined the Dodgers. But Sasaki won out in his desire to make the jump now. 

“From the time he joined the organization, we were told by [Sasaki] of his dream to play in America,” said Chiba Lotte GM Naoki Matsumoto in a statement. “Taking into account the last five years as a whole, we have decided to prioritize his thoughts. We are hoping he does his best as a representative of Japan. We are cheering for him.”

Bigger Picture

Despite the more level playing field, the Dodgers and Padres have been widely seen as the favorites to land Sasaki—for a variety of reasons including relative geographic proximity to Japan. 

Because of the low cost to obtain a talent of this level, the Sasaki situation is not expected to have any direct bearing on the ongoing race to land outfielder Juan Soto, the top player in MLB’s current free-agent class. Soto is expected to land a deal of at least $600 million, which would be the second-largest contract in U.S. pro sports history, and perhaps beat Ohtani’s current, $700 million pact with the Dodgers in present-day value. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NBA’s Declining Viewership Gets Steph Curry Bump

Last Wednesday’s Warriors-Celtics game averaged 2.14 million viewers.

Bears Revisiting Another Lakefront Location for New Stadium

The site is about 2.5 miles south of Soldier Field.

Chiefs-Bills Clash Could Set Ratings High, and CBS Is Going Big

CBS is set to broadcast “The NFL Today” on-site from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders kicker Zane Gonzales (47) kicks a field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Northwest Stadium.

RFK Stadium Bill Could Clear Congress in Lame-Duck Session

The legislation would grant D.C. a 99-year lease for the land.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

Can the NBA Cup Help Revive Lagging Viewership?

0:00

Featured Today

Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd as he exits the putting green with his aide Walt Nauta, left, during the final round of the LIV Golf Bedminster golf tournament at Trump National Bedminster on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023.
opinion

Trump Win Puts Sports Back in the White House

With Trump back in the White House, sports get more political again.
Members of the NY Giants run onto the field to start the game between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024.
November 8, 2024

The NFL Is Becoming the League With No Borders

Where will the NFL go next? International expansion will only get bigger.
November 5, 2024

NFL Center Connor McGovern Is the Heir to a Potato Empire

The NFL vet’s family provides potatoes for McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and others.
Vanderbilt Commodores fans head to the south end zone as the goal post is taken down by exuberant fans after beating No. 1 Alabama 40-35 at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
opinion
November 2, 2024

Something New in College Football This Year: Parity

Upsets, surprises. CFB is more fun on the field than the NFL.
Despondent Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

The $23 Million Reason a Daniel Jones Benching Is Looming

Injury guarantees have come into play for several quarterbacks in recent years.
November 7, 2024

NWSL Signs First College Player Since Abolishing Draft

The new era of true free agency in the NWSL has arrived.
Nick Bosa
November 12, 2024

NFL Waited for Trump Win to Fine Nick Bosa for MAGA Hat

The league usually issues such fines quickly, but waited weeks for Bosa.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
November 7, 2024

Raygun’s Viral Olympic Competition Will Be Her Last

She said the “level of scrutiny” will be higher since the Games.
Charles Leclerc
November 7, 2024

F1 Is at War With Its Drivers Over Swearing: ‘Our Members Are..

“Our members are adults,” the drivers said in a statement.
Jan 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks on after scoring during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center.
November 5, 2024

Joel Embiid Suspended Three Games for Shoving Journalist

The columnist wrote about Embiid’s son and late brother.
The start of the New York City Marathon
November 5, 2024

Influencer Matt Choi DQ’d and Banned From New York City Marathon 

Several people with Choi rode e-bikes and filmed him on the course.