A right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Dodgers on Friday, ending a hotly contested pursuit among multiple major league clubs. He joined fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a signing many baseball executives long expected.
“I am deeply honored that many teams reached out to me with such enthusiasm especially since I haven’t achieved much in Japan,” Sasaki said through a translator.
In introducing Sasaki, Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, called him "one of the most electrifying and promising talents in the game.” He said the Dodgers had been following Sasaki for the last six years, with their scouts first seeing him in high school in Japan.
Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize a contract. He was considered an international amateur under Major League Baseball's rules because he is under 25 and does not have six years service in the Japanese major leagues, making him subject to international signing bonus pools.
The Dodgers started with a pool of $5,146,200 but increased it to $8,102,800 with a pair of trades last week, acquiring $1.5 million from Cincinnati and $1,456,600 from Philadelphia.
The Dodgers are planning to use a six-man rotation, which could ease Sasaki’s transition to Major League Baseball, as the Dodgers attempt to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.
Sasaki was made available to MLB teams for a 45-day window by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League under the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB.
The Marines will get a release fee of $1,625,000, calculated at 25% of the amount of Sasaki’s signing bonus.
During the winter meetings last month, Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, denied an agreement with the Dodgers was already in place. Wolfe said MLB had investigated.
Sasaki was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings during a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He went 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts in 2023, when he had an oblique injury. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Marines and pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.
Among international amateur free agents, Los Angeles also agreed to deals with Venezuelan infielders Luis Tovar ($397,500) and Moises Acacio ($197,500), Panamanian left-hander Adrian Torres ($362,500) and Colombian shortstop Luis Luna ($137,500).
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