Out of all the potential foreign players getting posted, no one is as good as Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old has done nothing but dominate Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and is on his way to the MLB.
Sasaki has been sensational throughout his career in the NPB. In his full season (2022), he posted a record of 9-4, with an ERA of 2.02, and struck out 173 batters in only 129 innings. That season, he pitched a 19-strikeout perfect game and almost followed it up with another one the next outing, going eight perfect innings before being pulled in the ninth inning.
In 2023, Sasaki was even better, going 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA. In 91 innings, he struck out 135 batters. However, his year was cut short by a torn left oblique.
Sasaki’s 2024 season was very similar to 2023. He went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and struck out 129 batters in 111 innings. Like 2023, his season was limited due to several arm injuries.
Over the weekend, Sasaki rejected a contract offer from his team, the Chiba Lotte Marines. On Saturday morning, his team approved his request to be posted.
Unlike Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki is being posted the nontraditional way. There are two ways in which a player can be posted. If the player has accumulated six years of service time in a respected league or is 25 years old. If the player hits one of the two thresholds, they are not subjected to MLB international bonus pool restrictions. For example, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was posted and signed by the Dodgers this offseason to a 12-year $325 million contract. Yamamoto had accumulated six years of service time in the NPB and, therefore, was able to sign the largest pitching contract in MLB history.
Sasaki doesn’t hit either of the thresholds. Therefore, he will be considered an amateur international free agent and is subject to international pool money rules. All 30 teams will have the money to offer him a deal, and it will be up to him to pick his team.
His posting is the same as that of Shohei Ohtani, who was posted when he was 23 and signed for 2.3 million. Since Ohtani was subjected to international pool restrictions, he had to go through six years of MLB service before reaching free agency.
While the Dodgers are mentioned as the favorite, it is not a given that he will sign with them. Sasaki has a very close relationship with Padres starting Yu Darvish. Teams such as the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, and Cubs are mentioned as possible landing stops for the sensational righty.
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