In an unsurprising outcome, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes.
The world champion Dodgers were long presumed to be the favorites to sign the 23-year-old Japanese right-hander, who announced his decision Friday on Instagram. As an international amateur free agent, teams could sign him only with money from their international bonus pool for the 2025 signing period, which began Wednesday. Sasaki’s posting window was set to expire Thursday.
“I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Sasaki’s post said, in Japanese. “It was a very difficult decision, but I will do my best I can feel this was a correct decision, once I look back on my life as a baseball player. At my news conference for joining the club, I hope to wear my Dodgers uniform, feeling gratitude for all those who have supported me.”
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The Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were the finalists for Sasaki as the Cubs fell short of reaching the final stage of getting him to visit Chicago and Wrigley Field. The organization had hoped their recent history with Japanese players Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki and their success in the majors would appeal to another player looking to go from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball. That track record evidently wasn’t enough to sway Sasaki to sign with the Cubs.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Friday before Sasaki announced his choice that it was disappointing not to land the right-hander.
“We put a lot of time and effort into it, not just in trips over there, but thousands of man hours and presentations, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way we presented,” Hoyer said. “I think we do a really good job of that and that part went really well.
“But ultimately, you enter into that process, he can only choose one, one place to go. Honored that we made it in the eight teams he that he met with, disappointed we didn’t get the rose to get to the final three. But that’s the nature of these.”
Despite the unwanted outcome, just as what happened with Shohei Ohtani when he signed with the Anaheim Angels as an international free agent, Hoyer isn’t looking at it as a wasted opportunity.
“It’s good to have to sell your organization,” Hoyer said. “This place sells itself really well, so that part of the process is good, and you’ve just got to keep doing it over and over, and we’ve had a lot of success with Japanese players and one of these international amateurs to come over we’re going to get.”
Twenty teams initially submitted presentations to Sasaki, his agent, Joel Wolfe, said last month, to kick-start the process. A handful of teams then received in-person meetings with Sasaki in Los Angeles, the Cubs among them. As part of those meetings, which were limited to two hours, each team was given a homework assignment to show Sasaki how they can analyze and communicate information with him.
“Roki is by no means a finished product,” Wolfe said Dec. 30. “He knows it and the teams know it. He’s incredibly talented. We all know that, but he is a guy that wants to be great. He’s not coming here just to be rich or to get a huge contract. He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest ever.”
Without Sasaki, the Cubs still could use another proven starter to join the rotation and help raise the ceiling on a group led by Imanaga, Justin Steele and right-hander Jameson Taillon. Hoyer indicated Friday that they are focused on adding to the bullpen and bench to complete the roster.
Sasaki was made available to MLB teams for a 45-day window by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League under the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB. Because he is under 25 and does not have six years of service time in NPB, MLB considers Sasaki an international amateur, limiting him to a minor-league contract subject to the signing pools.
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Sasaki, whose fastball tops 100 mph, was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings during a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He went 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts in 2023, when he had an oblique injury. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Marines and pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.
The Dodgers are planning to use a six-man rotation, which could ease Sasaki’s transition to Major League Baseball, as the Dodgers attempt to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.
Associated Press contributed.