The Dodgers have landed several big names over the last 14 months — and add another one to that list: Roki Sasaki. Los Angeles, long rumored to be the favorite, ultimately landed Sasaki, as he announced on social media. His decision gives the Dodgers a controllable ace for at least the next several years.
A Look at Sasaki
It’s not hyperbole to state Roki Sasaki is the most notable player to come overseas from Japan since Shohei Ohtani. And, it’s not hyperbole to say he could be the best pitcher to come over from MLB from the country.
Sasaki’s former manager, former MLBer Masato Yoshii, compared him to Hideo Nomo, as the young right-hander dominated in the Nippon Professional Baseball league over the last three years.
As a 20-year-old, Sasaki struck out 173 batters over 129.1 IP with the Chiba Lotte Marines. The following campaign, he struck out 135 over 91, only walked 17, and posted a 1.88 ERA. Sasaki’s strikeout numbers tumbled somewhat in 2024, as he struck out 129 over 111 frames last season with Chiba Lotte.
His velocity was reported to be down last year, one that saw him reportedly deal with shoulder fatigue.
But when healthy, Sasaki looked like an ace, including during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, thanks to an impressive arsenal.
The 23-year-old’s big weapon is a four-seam fastball that, when healthy, he could run up to 102 MPH. He did in the World Baseball Classic two years ago, during the semifinal against Team Mexico.
Sasaki also possesses a plus-plus splitter, a pitch that sat in the low-90s in 2023, roughly 10 MPH slower than his fastball. His splitter acts differently at times compared to other ones in MLB, and could be considered a “seam-shifted” pitch. Sasaki’s split has hard drop and during the WBC, didn’t truly run to the arm side, rather moving towards his glove side.
Those were the two main pitches he used. But, he’ll also break out a hard slider, that sits in the high-80s.
Sasaki didn’t walk many batters in the NPB, posting BB/9 rates below 2.0 in 2022-23.
The 23-year-old looked poised to dominate in Japan for the next few years, before becoming eligible to hit MLB international free agency after the 2026 season. However, there was friction between both him and Chiba Lotte, as he wanted to be posted earlier.
Chiba Lotte agreed, posting him in December.
Roki Sasaki announced he joined the Dodgers on his Instagram account. His international signing bonus will count towards the 2025 signing period.
Analysis
A decision on Sasaki’s end had to come during the next few days, as the posting period would have ended on the 23rd. It ends a curious free agency process for Sasaki, one that saw multiple teams become eliminated from the process earlier in the week.
It left three — the Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Padres — as the finalists. San Diego was reportedly eliminated late this week and Toronto, in a late push, traded for Myles Straw in a salary dump, designed to add more international slot money.
But instead, Sasaki signed with the team many believed he would go to anyways.
Sasaki joins fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom joined the Dodgers last winter. For Sasaki, the young ace not only joins the reigning World Series champions but also a team he fits in near perfectly.
Not only are the Dodgers are the likely favorites to win it all again in 2025, Sasaki slots into a rotation that will likely expand into a six-man group. The Dodgers have Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, both newcomer Blake Snell. Add Sasaki, another name or two — Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Landon Knack, etc. — and likely Ohtani himself, and the Dodgers have the depth to execute a six-man rotation with ease.
The other component to this deal is the price. Despite how the Dodgers spend, money isn’t infinite. Sasaki, though, comes in at a great price. Since he’s considered an international amateur, Sasaki will be on the league-minimum salary in 2025. And, likely slightly above the number in 2026 & 2027 until he reaches arbitration.
Assuming Sasaki doesn’t get demoted, he’ll be eligible for free agency after 2030.
This signing gives the Dodgers much-needed financial flexibility.