Roki Sasaki to be posted for MLB clubs to sign this winter

David Stearns has already scouted Sasaki in Japan in September, who has a 100 mph fastball

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Star Japanese right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki will be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball this winter, as announced by the club on Saturday.

In 2024, Sasaki, 23, had a remarkable 10-5 record with a 2.32 ERA with 129 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 18 starts spanning 111 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the NPB. Throughout his 64-game career in the NPB, he has an impressive lifetime ERA of 2.10. However, he faced significant challenges in 2024 due to a torn oblique and arm issues which limited him to just 21 starts.

He pitched for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, striking out 11 over 7 2/3 IP in the tournament.

Since Sasaki is still under 25 years old, he can only be signed to a minor league contract and receive International Pool money, rather than a standard free agent contract. This distinction is similar to the $2.3 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels in 2018.

Once Sasaki begins accumulating service time in the majors, which is expected to start in 2025, he will be under team control for a period of six years and can enter normal free agency at that time.

The team that signs Sasaki will pay the Marines a 20% share of the total contract value he receives. Considering the anticipated value of the contract, all 30 NPB clubs should be interested in acquiring his services.

The exact timing of Sasaki’s posting remains uncertain. The 2024 international signing period concludes on December 15, while the new one begins on January 15. Sasaki will have 45 days to sign with a club once he is posted.

As is typical with most clubs, the Mets have spent most of their $6.2 million international bonus pool money in 2024, leaving them with limited room to sign Sasaki during the current period.

Still, their interest in signing Sasaki was evident during David Stearns’s visit to Japan in September to scout him. Last week at the GM Meetings, he described Sasaki as a unique talent with a 100 mph fastball and a nasty splitter.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Dodgers are currently the favored team to sign Sasaki. However, Stearns’ visit to Japan in September suggests that the Mets could also interested in signing him.

Still, the Dodgers have the most amount of money available for international free agents during this period, at about $2.5 million according to MLB.com, whereas the Mets have $314,000 left.

While teams can always trade for up to 60% of their allocated pool money, and the allotment will reset in January for all clubs, the Mets were once again expected to spend heavily and had likely already committed to players in international free agency during the upcoming period before Sasaki was posted.

A year ago, the Mets made a strong effort to sign RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a full-fledged free agent. Despite offering a 12-year, $325 million contract, Yamamoto ultimately signed with the Dodgers for the same deal.