Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images Sasaki, 23, appears to be on his way to stardom in the majors. Last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League, Sasaki had 129 strikeouts, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.036 WHIP, posting a 10-5 record across 111 innings. Also on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York […]
Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images
Sasaki, 23, appears to be on his way to stardom in the majors. Last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League, Sasaki had 129 strikeouts, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.036 WHIP, posting a 10-5 record across 111 innings.
Also on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Mets are out of the running for Sasaki. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that Sasaki informed the Texas Rangers he would be signing elsewhere.
Sasaki will be eligible to sign with a major league team on Wednesday when the international signing period opens.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, struggled in 2024 and could use a star pitcher like Sasaki to energize their club.
The Dodgers are looking to defend their 2024 World Series win and Sasaki would only add to an already-talented rotation. The Padres are coming off an impressive 93-69 season that saw them reach the NLDS, but bringing in Sasaki could help them get to the next level.
Japanese right-handed pitcher Rōki Sasaki has ruled out a handful of teams and is seemingly getting closer to making his decision.
Sasaki decided which clubs to rule out after holding meetings with the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Rangers, Blue Jays, Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, according to Sammon, Lin and Andy McCullough of The Athletic.
He’ll now have the difficult task of deciding where to sign, though he has plenty of options. While his decision doesn’t have to be immediate, he will need to sign by the final date of a 45-day posting window on Jan. 23.
The report of Sasaki’s favorites comes after a handful of teams learned that he did not plan to sign with them. Jack Curry of YES reported that the New York Yankees were informed Sasaki would not sign with them while San Francisco Giants general manager Zack Minasian told reporters that Sasaki was not going to sign with the Giants.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Pasan, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are the finalists to land Sasaki.
