Roki Sasaki is coveted by Mets, Yankees and Dodgers — former teammate Dallas Keuchel reveals why
The Marines announced on Saturday that the 23-year-old will be posted this offseason.
Elite stuff? Check.
Curiosity for information? Check.
Hunger to be historically elite? Check.
Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young winner, spent the final two-plus months of this past season as a Chiba Lotte Marines teammate of Roki Sasaki and left believing: “The overview is incredible. There is nothing he can’t do.”
The Marines announced on Saturday that Sasaki, who turned 23 last week, will be posted this offseason. Because he is under 25, Sasaki will not be an unrestricted free agent, as was Yoshinobu Yamamoto last year en route to signing a pitcher-record $325 million contract over 12 years. Instead, Sasaki’s move to the U.S. will mirror Shohei Ohtani’s, following the 2017 season, when he could sign only a minor league contract and receive a bonus from a team’s international bonus pool.
Ohtani signed for $2.3 million. Even if Sasaki delays his signing until the 2025 period begins after Jan. 15, teams will be limited to roughly between $5 million and $7.5 million to sign him, with the ability to potentially trade for a little more. But the dollars are a technicality not a reflection of someone who is viewed as having a chance to top Ohtani, Yu Darvish and Hideo Nomo as the greatest pitcher to come to MLB from Japan.
That should unleash a frenzied pursuit. But will it? Many teams, including the Mets and Yankees, have obsessively scouted Sasaki and sent over top executives to see him and show respect about their seriousness. Within the industry, though, the Dodgers are viewed as everything from a powerful favorite to all but having him secured already. The signing of Ohtani, particularly, and also Yamamoto made the new champions the team of Japan — “I saw some Yankees hats, but everywhere it was the ‘D’ for Dodgers on shirts and hats,” Keuchel observed.