This week, one of the biggest names in the MLB free agency market, Roki Sasaki, was seen training in Los Angeles. The Japanese righty phenom posted a video of him pitching at Loyola Marymount University to his Instagram account.
Japanese ace Roki Sasaki (23) training at Loyola Marymount University in LA before the 2024-25 international signing period.
Video from his IG account. pic.twitter.com/b1tph0QIKF
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 9, 2025
This post comes just a handful of days before the international singing period that begins on Jan. 15.
Sasaki has spent the past four seasons in Japan, playing for the China Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball. During those four years, he had 29 wins and 394.2 innings pitched.
He finished with a 2.10 career ERA, a career WHIP below 0.90, and had 505 career strikeouts. Sasaki also averaged well over 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 23-year-old ace has been one of the biggest free agency stories leading up to the 2025 season. This may be one of the last personal social media updates we get from Sasaki before his signing.
