The Chiba Lotte Marines have decided to post Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki, clearing the way for him to transfer from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball in 2025. As a player under the age of 25, Sasaki will be subject to international amateur free-agent restrictions and will be available for all 30 teams to sign at a modest cost. He will only be able to sign a minor-league deal using an MLB club’s international bonus pool money, similar to how Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels for a paltry $2.3 million in 2017.
Sasaki is a 23-year-old flamethrower who has been on the international radar since his high school days. He gained further acclaim in April 2022, when he threw a 19-strikeout perfect game for the Marines at just 20 years old. His fastball has clocked in over 102 mph in Japan and touched 101.9 at the World Baseball Classic. He was teammates with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani when Samurai Japan won the 2023 tournament, and there is heavy speculation that he’ll team up with them again next year in Los Angeles.
All 30 clubs will have 45 days to negotiate with Sasaki after he is posted, and once he signs, he will be subject to the same rules and team control as any other rookie player. It is not yet clear if Sasaki will be posted before the 2024 signing period ends on December 15 or when the 2025 signing period begins on January 15.