In May, Chelsea James of *The Washington Post* reported that teams expected Roki Sasaki, a star pitcher from Nippon Professional Baseball, to be posted this offseason. That prediction became reality on Saturday.
The Chiba Lotte Marines officially announced on X that they will post Sasaki this offseason. ESPN’s Jeff Passan mentioned that it’s still unclear when Sasaki will be available, but it will happen before Dec. 15, which is the start of the next international signing period. The Marines are likely to wait as long as possible before posting him to maximize the signing window.
Most people in baseball believe the Los Angeles Dodgers are the clear favorite to sign Sasaki. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that while all 30 teams will try to sign him, Sasaki is expected to end up in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are already linked to big names like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and they just came off a World Series win.
However, the Padres should not be counted out as another strong contender. San Diego is home to Yu Darvish, who signed a six-year, $108 million extension to stay with the Padres through 2028. Darvish is Sasaki’s mentor and has helped him develop his slider, which has become a major part of Sasaki’s pitching arsenal.
Sasaki, 23, has an impressive pitching repertoire, including a fastball that can reach 102 MPH, a nasty splitter, and a plus-slider. He has been a two-time NPB All-Star and threw a perfect game in 2022, striking out 19 batters.
Sasaki followed that up with eight more perfect innings before being taken out for a pinch hitter. Over his career, he has posted a 2.10 ERA and 0.984 WHIP in 394.2 innings, with 505 strikeouts and only 88 walks.
However, there are concerns about Sasaki’s durability. He has never pitched more than 129.1 innings in a season and missed time in 2024 due to a torn oblique and arm fatigue, limiting him to 18 starts. Despite these injuries, when Sasaki is healthy, he has proven himself as one of the top pitchers in the world.
The Padres may have been holding back on other moves, waiting for Sasaki to be posted. After signing top international prospects like catcher Ethan Salas in 2023 and shortstop Leo De Vries in 2024, the Padres haven’t been very aggressive in the offseason. It’s possible they’ve been waiting to make a push for Sasaki.
Sasaki will be coming to the United States for the 2025 season. While the Dodgers are seen as the favorites, the Padres also remain a strong contender for his services.
