Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki is coming to Major League Baseball. Sasaki’s team in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Chiba Lotte Marines, announced making him available to MLB clubs via the posting system.
The 22-year-old is expected to attract interest from multiple teams, with several likely to for his signature once he becomes available. Roki Sasaki comes off a stellar career in Japan, including a 2.02 ERA with 91 walks, 524 strikeouts and 414.2 innings pitched across four seasons.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers, already home to two Japanese players, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, are considered the frontrunners to acquire Roki Sasaki. Several baseball on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to the Dodgers' interest in him.
“Is his favorite color blue by any chance,” a fan said.
“Dodgers boutta offer 6 years $200 billion,” another fan said.
“He'd be the perfect Pittsburgh Pirate. The Dodgers have enough talent to get by. lol,” another fan wrote.
“He should go the Dodgers and make baseball terrible,” one wrote
Some fans praised Sasaki for his achievements but also noted that he requires further development.
“Roki has huge potential, but don't expect him to be an instant MLB star. He's still 23. He must develop his body and get adjusted to the new environment. Yet, I'm wishing him the best!” a comment read.
“Incredible stats on the mound in Japan Roki Sasaki! Going to be fun to see him play Major League Baseball someday,” another added.
Sasaki made his professional debut in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball in 2021.
Roki Sasaki opens up about his posting to MLB by the Chiba Lotte Marines
Roki Sasaki’s one of the biggest achievements came on April 10, 2022, when he pitched the 16th perfect game in NPB history against the Orix Buffaloes. Discussing his posting to MLB, Sasaki said (via MLB):
"Since I joined [the Marines], I have continued to listen to my future MLB challenges, and I am grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post."
"There were a lot of things that happened, but I was able to get to this point by focusing solely on baseball, with the support of my teammates, staff, front office, and fans, so I don't have any regrets in my baseball career.”
Once posted, Sasaki will have 45 days for negotiations with MLB teams. If no agreement is reached, he will return to his Japanese team for the upcoming season.
