Who Is Roki Sasaki? Everything You Need to Know about MLB’s Next Pitching Star

The Major League Baseball free agency market was thrust upside down this past weekend, when the Chiba Lotte Marines announced they would post Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki for MLB teams to bid on. The 23-year-old righty immediately becomes the most coveted pitcher available, and nearly every team is expected to be in on his services.

Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto upended the market with an unprecedented $325 million deal for a pitcher who had never appeared in an MLB game. While Sasaki is expected to command similar hype to that of Yamamoto, the structure of his imminent deal will look quite different.

Who Is Roki Sasaki?

Sasaki is one of the most hyped arms to have ever come out of Japan due to the versatility in his arsenal. His fastball has been tracked at 100 mph or more, even though he did suffer a decline over the past season that saw it drop to around 96 mph on average. Sasaki also carries a dynamic splitter that has drawn comparisons to Rangers pitcher Jacobe deGram’s dancing slider, though he also throws a violent gyro slider of his own.

American baseball fans first got a glimpse of him in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where the ridiculous movement on his fastball (peaking around 15 inches across the plate) dazzled MLB hitters en route to a WBC crown. He sported a career 2.10 ERA across four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, and was one of the most feared pitchers in the league in that span.

Why Now?

Sasaki attempted to leverage his World Baseball Classic performance in getting posted by the Marines last year, but was unsuccessful. The team has had a change of heart before he hits traditional international free agency, and announced Saturday it would make him available to Major League teams.

Had Sasaki waited until he was 25, he’d be able to command a contract similar to that of Yamamoto. But because he is leaving Japan before that, MLB rules dictate he will be considered an international amateur free agent, which means he can sign only a minor league deal with bonuses paid through a team’s allotted international bonus pool money. Each team can offer a different amount based on its commitments to other players, which means some will be able to provide more financial incentives for Sasaki to sign than others.

Even so, don’t expect his contract to be anything significant. It likely will be similar to Shohei Ohtani’s first contract in the United States, when he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels and received a $2.3 million bonus. He then leveraged his success there into the largest contract in baseball history, a 10-year deal with $700 million signed last season.

“From the beginning, the team has listened to my future desires to pitch in MLB and I am incredibly grateful that they are allowing me to be posted at this time. There were many things that didn’t go well during my five years with the club but I have gotten to this point by focusing solely on baseball with the support of my teammates, staff, front office, and fans at all times,” Sasaki said in a statement. “I will do my best to climb up from a minor league contract and become the best player in the world so I have no regrets about my one and only baseball career and can live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me so far.”

While it would have made more financial sense for the team to post him once he turned 25, it appears the squad is repaying him for his efforts by posting him early. He will have 45 days to sign with an MLB team once posted.

Who Is in Play?

As usual, the Los Angeles Dodgers are a major favorite of Sasaki’s services. The World Series winners captured their first full-season title since 1988 and are primed to compete for several more over the next few years. Ohtani and Yamamoto are already anchors for most of the next decade, and playing alongside them would only allow Sasaki to develop further with mentorship from two guys who have similar experiences.

Another squad who could be in heavy pursuit of his services would be the San Diego Padres. Even though they parted ways with Juan Soto last offseason, the Padres have rebuilt a strong core of young players and made a late-season push into the postseason. Their rotation is anchored by fellow Japanese star Yu Darvish, who could prove influential in swaying Sasaki for his services.

The New York Mets reportedly only have a little more than $300,000 to spend in internal bonus pool money, but they are an attractive option for Sasaki as well. They hit big with 2023 All-Star Kodai Senga, and the two could make for a lethal pairing in their rotation for years to come. If the Mets add Soto, they would appear primed to compete for a world title in 2025.

While names like the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies all make sense as well, the truth is that nearly every team will be in on the 23-year-old. His team-friendly contract will make him a prized free agent, and with proper development, we could be looking at baseball’s next big thing.