• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 12, 2025

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

Cobh Ramblers
exclusive

Ireland’s Ramblers Latest Soccer Club to Gain U.S. Owner

The Ramblers play in the League of Ireland First Division.
Jeff Kaplan

Letting PE Invest in Family-Owned Teams Is a ‘Watershed’

Liquidity gives owners greater flexibility to manage salary cap.

All-Star Game Returns to Atlanta With Big Plans After 2021 Exit

The league’s jewel event is set to be a global showcase for The Battery.

NCAA: March Madness Expansion to 76 Teams ‘Still Viable’ for 2026

Negotiations continue with media rights holder CBS and TNT Sports.

Featured Today

Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
NFL

30 NFL Second-Rounders Still Unsigned With Camps Set to Open

Saturday is the earliest rookie report date for training camp.
Sinner
July 11, 2025

ESPN Gets Dream Alcaraz-Sinner Rematch in Wimbledon Final

The pair have won the last six men’s majors.
July 11, 2025

Najee Harris Contract Situation Unclear Following Fireworks Injury

The running back signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Chargers in March.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Apr 9, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Katie Taylor (left) and Amanda Serrano (right) pose in front of Jake Paul during a press conference ahead of their boxing match at Madison Square Garden.
July 11, 2025

Serrano vs. Taylor 3 Set to Be Biggest Women’s Boxing Match in..

“I’m just sick of the whining and complaining from your team.”
Jul 10, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dunks against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter of their game at Thomas & Mack Center.
July 11, 2025

Cooper Flagg Makes Mavericks, New Balance Debut in Win Over Bronny

Thursday marked Flagg’s first game donning New Balance shoes.
July 10, 2025

Jalen Williams Signs Max Deal As Thunder Commit $822M to 3 Stars

Oklahoma City also extended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.
Hall of Fame Open at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport.
July 10, 2025

Andy Roddick Slams Billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pro Tennis Gambit

“This was the biggest joke I’ve ever watched in professional tennis.”