Japanese pitching star Sasaki Roki says he has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had been aiming to move to a Major League Baseball club through the posting system.
The 23-year-old made the announcement on his social media account on Friday.
Sasaki joined the Chiba Lotte Marines after graduating from high school. In 2022, his third season, he became the youngest pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history to throw a perfect game.
He also tied the record for the fastest pitch in the NPB by a Japanese pitcher at 165 kilometers per hour in 2023. Sasaki had a career-high 10 wins last year.
After he was posted by the Lotte Marines at the end of the season, 20 out of 30 MLB teams showed interest in signing him.
Since Sasaki is under 25 years old, he is subject to MLB rules that allow him to sign only a minor league contract, with signing bonus and salary amounts limited. His signing bonus must be covered within the annually allocated funds known as the “international bonus pool.” The period for signings using these funds opened on Wednesday.
Multiple US media outlets say Sasaki will be getting a 6.5 million-dollar signing bonus, with the Lotte Marines receiving 25 percent of that amount as the release fee.
Sasaki said in his social media post that it was a very difficult decision, but pledged to do his best so that he could feel he made the right decision when he looks back after his baseball career ends.
The Dodgers won the World Series last season. Its roster includes Ohtani Shohei and pitcher Yamamoto Yoshinobu, with whom Sasaki played on Japan’s team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Ohtani is aiming to make a comeback as a two-way player this coming season, while Yamamoto is entering his second year with the team.
With the three prominent Japanese players on its roster, the Dodgers will aim to win the World Series in consecutive seasons for the first time in the club’s history.
