Rōki Sasaki might be the best free agent still available for MLB. Here is everything to know about the Japanese superstar.
Rōki Sasaki, the 23-year-old phenom from Japan whose services for the next six seasons could be procured by every Major League Baseball franchise for the equivalent of a rounding error, ended his six-week recruiting period by agreeing to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday,
Sasaki, nicknamed in Japan as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era," struck out 11 batters in 7 and ⅔ innings with a 3.52 ERA during the 2023 WBC. In Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he struck out 129 hitters in 111 regular-season innings for the Marines in the 2024 season.
Baseball fans have the same complaint after Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki signed with the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Rangers took a more muted approach for the IFA period than past years, partly because they want to be opportunistic elsewhere.
The Dodgers cemented their status as the preferred MLB destination for NPB stars and transformed their rotation into a Mount Rushmore of Japanese pitching luminaries by winning the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes.
The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are winding down, with finalists emerging and teams being informed that they're out of the running.
With just two days before the window to sign him opens, the field for star Japanese right-hander Rōki Sasaki has narrowed.
The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be in on Rōki Sasaki. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays met with the Japanese ace in Toronto recently.
After an investigation, MLB found no wrongdoing in the dealings between Roki Sasaki and the Los Angeles Dodgers
It’s tempting to say Ichiro Suzuki, with his detached sense of cool, record-breaking hitting prowess and 28 seasons of excellence on both sides of the globe, was made for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Probably more accurate to say the Hall of Fame was made for him.