Dodgers Take First Big Step in Roki Sasaki Pursuit

Maren Angus-Coombs | Dec 31, 2024

Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the first big step in their pursuit of Japanese free agent Roki Sasaki becoming the sixth team to meet with the right-hander and his agent Joel Wolfe, according to a report from Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

The meeting comes as no surprise, with the Dodgers widely viewed as frontrunners to sign the 23-year-old.

After the Chiba Lotte Marines officially posted Sasaki on Dec. 11, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman emphasized that signing him was a "major priority" for the organization.

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The Dodgers are the sixth team confirmed to have met with Sasaki and Wolfe. The two have already. met with the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

Weeks ago at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, Wolfe told reporters that more than 20 teams expressed interest in his client.

“The best I can say is he has paid attention to how the teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in years past,” Wolfe said at the Winter Meetings. “He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball. He’s paid attention to what his (World Baseball Classic) teammates have done. He’s talked to a lot of players, foreign players that have been on his team with Chiba Lotte. He asked a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development and just watching what other Japanese players in the major leagues are doing and how they are doing.”

Sasaki plans to narrow down the list of teams under consideration and conduct a second round of meetings with them in 2025. His posting window remains open until Jan. 24, but he cannot finalize a contract before Jan. 15, when the 2025 international signing period officially begins.

Sasaki is regarded as one of the top pitchers globally. In 2022, he became the youngest pitcher to throw a perfect game in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and matched Shohei Ohtani’s record for the fastest pitch in NPB history at 102.5 mph.

Over four NPB seasons, he posted a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and averaged 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Despite dealing with injuries last season, Sasaki finished with a 10-5 record and a 2.35 ERA across 18 starts.

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