Diamondbacks in on Japanese phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki, who will begin meeting with MLB clubs

With Juan Soto off the board, much of the national baseball attention has turned to Roki Sasaki, a Japanese pitching phenom who was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Monday and will begin meeting with MLB clubs.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are interested in the 23-year-old and expected to make a run at him, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro. D-backs executives traveled to Japan to watch him pitch this past season.

I would expect that the Diamondbacks are in the conversation in regards to signing 23-year old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who will be signed as an international amateur per MLB rules. Last year, for Chiba Lotte, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA over 111 innings.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) December 11, 2024

Sasaki’s free agency may be the most competitive in baseball because it will not be a typical bidding war. Sasaki will have to sign a minor league contract akin to Shohei Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017 and not like Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last winter.

Since Sasaki is looking to begin his major league career before turning 25 years old and with fewer than six professional seasons under his belt, he faces international bonus pool money restrictions. That takes a significant advantage away from teams with the highest payrolls.

Big market teams will be all in, of course, as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters at the winter meetings on Tuesday recruiting Sasaki is a priority. The New York Yankees are also intent on signing the young starter. The San Diego Padres, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants will make their runs, as well.

But Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, gave a quote at the winter meetings on Tuesday that should perk up the ears of fans that root for teams beyond the biggest markets, such as Arizona. Even the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies have expressed interest.

“I think there’s an argument to be made that a smaller mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan given what he’s been through,” Wolfe said. “It might be, I’m not saying it will be. It might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market but I really don’t know how he looks at it yet.”

Wolfe described Sasaki as having a tumultuous relationship with media in Japan for wanting to jump to the United States so early. Sasaki wanted to be posted last year and had to play another season with his desire to depart known publicly.

“Roki’s had a tough go of it the last couple years,” Wolfe said. “The media in Japan … has been very tough on him. He’s not had a great time with it … His dream is to come here to the major leagues. I think he hasn’t really wrapped his head around the individual teams and the individual cities and he just really doesn’t know much about them.”

Roki Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe says that the media in Japan has been "very tough on him" and that Sasaki has been treated unfairly: "It's affected him mentally, a little bit"

Wolfe adds that Sasaki's dream is to play in MLB pic.twitter.com/W9eWdvry0i

— SNY (@SNYtv) December 10, 2024

Still, the Dodgers and Padres have been considered the favorites to land Sasaki by national media, but Wolfe was adamant there have been no predetermined deals between Sasaki and any club, stressing a fair playing field.

Wolfe said teams have submitted presentations via video and other forms.

Who is Roki Sasaki?

Sasaki is a 6-foot-3 right-hander who can explode a triple-digit fastball past bats. His heater has eclipsed 102.5 mph. He pairs it with a splitter that forced a 56.5% whiff rate in 2024, according to Sports Info Solutions.

He’s leaned on those two pitches but increased the usage of his slider last year.

79 seconds of Roki Sasaki's 100mph Fastballs (or higher). ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/VGHphmJTIt

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 21, 2023

In 2024 for the Marines, Sasaki threw 111 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts.

After the season, Sasaki said in a statement he wanted to be the best player in the world.

“I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world, so that I will have no regrets in my one and only baseball career and live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me,” Sasaki wrote after the Marines agreed to post him.

In 2023, after winning the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan, he threw 91 innings with an incredible 1.78 ERA.

Back in 2022, Sasaki followed a perfect game with eight perfect innings, retiring 52 consecutive batters.

“I’ve gotten a chance to watch him a little bit, bits and pieces,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told the Associated Press. “I was telling somebody, yeah, it’s a lot of fastball. It’s a swing-and-miss split. He’s going to be a really good starter here immediately. I’ve been very impressed by what I’ve seen so far.”

Meet Roki Sasaki, Japan's 23-year-old fireballer coming to MLB next season 🇯🇵

Where will the coveted international free agent land? pic.twitter.com/IcucRwCNQZ

— MLB (@MLB) November 12, 2024

When will Roki Sasaki sign?

Sasaki can sign now if he wanted, as he has a 45-day window to find an agreement before having to return to Chiba Lotte. The 2025 international signing period begins on Jan. 15, when every teams’ international bonus pools reset. He and Chiba Lotte through the posting fee will make more money if he waits for the 2025 period, which is the expectation.

The Diamondbacks will have $6.9 million, but the pools range from $5.1 million to $7.6 million.

What could Roki Sasaki bring the Diamondbacks?

If Sasaki lives up to his billing, he will become an ace in MLB.

Any team could use an frontline starter, but the Diamondbacks are in a time sensitive position.

Arizona ace Zac Gallen has one more year under team control, and the Scott Boras client must be looking at this offseason’s pitching market with wide eyes. It is booming with pitchers who have not reached the highs Gallen has signing for big money.

Merrill Kelly is also in the last year of his deal and is 36 years old.

Sasaki would provide the Diamondbacks a potential top-end starter for the foreseeable future to pair with Gallen or take the top spot if the club cannot retain Gallen. With a minor league contract, Sasaki would be under team control for six years and re-enter the market at 29 years old, when he could land a monumental payday.

The D-backs have six starting pitchers and say they have received calls for multiple starters. There remains lots of speculation and reporting that suggests Jordan Montgomery is likely out after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

The Diamondbacks have been hyper focused on improving its run prevention, and landing Sasaki is the most cost-effective and high-upside way of doing so.

Can they sell Sasaki on the Valley being the best place to develop and win?

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