If it weren’t for Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki would be the hottest commodity on the free agent market by a mile. Still, there’s an element of intrigue to Sasaki’s market that Soto doesn’t have. It’s a foregone conclusion that Soto will sign with a big-market team for a potentially record-breaking amount and will most likely end up back in New York, but Sasaki’s free agency can’t just be about money. As an amateur free agent, he’ll only be able to sign for the league minimum and a couple million from the signing team’s international free agent bonus pool.
That could open him up to conversations with all 30 teams, as long as he’s willing to entertain them. While some have more money than others left in this international free agency signing period (which opened on Jan. 15 and will close on Dec. 15), Sasaki may not care much about the difference, which will be comparatively negligible to what he could’ve made as a full-fledged free agent at the age of 25. He also may wait to be posted until Jan. 15 of 2025, when all MLB teams can rejoin the fray with the same budget.
Speculation about Sasaki’s future in MLB has gone in multiple different directions so far. Some still insist that the Dodgers are favored to sign him, but other reports have suggested that he’ll eye a smaller-market team with a solid pitching development strategy to wade into the majors with.
However, a new rumor has surfaced out of Japan that says Sasaki already has his sights set on LA, and a deal has already been struck.
RUMOR: Roki Sasaki has already set a deal with the #Dodgers.#Dodgernation #rokisasaki #佐々木朗希 #MLB #メジャー #メジャーリーグ pic.twitter.com/CW00mAIGhw
— Japan.gg | ★★★★★ (@JapanggX) November 14, 2024
New rumor out of Japan suggests Roki Sasaki-Dodgers deal has been made
Before Dodgers fans get too excited, there’s no way of knowing if this claim can be substantiated in any way at this point. Neither larger Japanese outlets nor American media outlets have picked up on it and provided any context, so this could be a baseless Twitter rumor from an account that does seem to have rooting interest in the Dodgers.
However, it’s something to keep an eye on. Sasaki has yet to be officially posted, but clubs can still communicate with him before that happens and potentially even set a deal to be finalized after his posting.
The Dodgers have a considerable amount of international bonus pool money left during this year’s period (around $2.5 million), which they very well might have been saving in the event Sasaki was posted this year. Again, money doesn’t have to factor in here as much as it would for a traditional free agent, but there are multiple reasons why Sasaki would want to come to LA anyway, and he’d be joining two of them in the rotation next season if this becomes a reality.
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