The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes is ending.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are finalists for Sasaki, ESPN reported Monday. Sasaki’s team told the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers that the Japanese phenom pitcher will not sign with their clubs, according to several reports (YES, San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News).
Additionally, the New York Mets are also not expected to land Sasaki, per SNY. The Chicago Cubs were also among the teams that met with Sasaki.
Regarding the teams that are still looking for Sasaki, the Padres caught him over the weekend, reports The Athletic. He also visited the Toronto Blue Jays in his hometown, The Athletic added in its report. Both groups have met with Sasaki in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers spoke with Sasaki at least once during the process. General manager Brandon Gomes told reporters he still hopes to get a second meeting with Sasaki starting Jan. 7.
The Dodgers have been considered one of the favorites to land Sasaki for much of the offseason. They, along with the Padres, have reportedly told other international prospects that they might reschedule and sign with the team as part of the 2026 international class. The expectation is that Sasaki will take the lion’s share of the available international bonus money either way. the team he signed with.
Because Sasaki is under the age of 25 and has not yet played six seasons in the NPB, he is considered an international rookie and is limited to a minor league contract under the international signing bonus pools, which range from $7,555,500 to $5,146,200. Starting Wednesday, teams may make trades to increase their signing bonus share up to 60% from their initial figure.
Sasaki was officially signed by his NPB team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, on December 9, opening a 45-day window for him to sign. Therefore, he will have to make a decision about his MLB future on Jan. 23.
The Dodgers have already addressed their rotation this offseason, signing Blake Snell to a six-year deal. While they lost Walker Buehler in free agency, Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound in 2025 and Clayton Kershaw is expected to return at some point during the season.
If Los Angeles lands Sasaki, it could have one of the scariest rotations on paper in recent memory. Sasaki’s fastball tops 100 mph and he went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings in a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He has a career record of 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA over four injury-shortened seasons with the Marines.
The Padres, so far, have not signed or traded this offseason. Adding Sasaki would further solidify the Padres’ rotation as one of the best in baseball, joining the likes of Dylan Cease, Joe Musgrove, Michael King and Yu Darvish.
The Blue Jays have been in the mix with several free agents this offseason, but have missed out on many of them. However, they added reliever Jeff Hoffman and traded for second baseman Andrés Giménez this offseason.
As for the teams that have left Sasaki, the Yankees have already brought in another big-name pitcher. They signed left-handed starter Max Fried to a seven-year, $218 million deal in December. The Mets re-signed Sean Manaea to go along with adding Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to bolster their pitching staff. The Giants added Justin Verlander to their rotation in early January after losing Snell. Rangers also signed Nathan Eovaldi in December.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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