Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced Friday on Instagram. Sasaki, 23, was considered to be the best pitcher in the world not already under the employment of an MLB organization.
The Milwaukee Brewers announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez, who spent all of last season pitching in Japan with the Yakult Swallows, to a big-league contract Friday. Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with a club option for 2026 with Milwaukee.
Right-hander Roki Sasaki, the covered Japanese free agent, has whittled down a list of suitors to two finalists, according to a report by veteran MLB reporter Francys Romero. Sasaki eliminated the San Diego Padres and will choose between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, the report claims.
Hoping to become a two-way player in Major League Baseball just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii made the rare decision to bypass Japanese professional baseball entirely and agreed to a minor league contract with the Athletics that includes a signing bonus of $1,
At his age and talent level, Sasaki folds in perfectly for a Dodgers club that was already planning on running a six-man rotation.
The reigning champion Dodgers and Blue Jays are the final teams standing from a pool that included the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Rangers and Giants — with the Padres being taken out of the equation on Friday, according to Francys Romero.
Japanese baseball stars have almost exclusively come to MLB after playing in NPB. Morii is breaking precedent by signing with the A's.
Sasaki’s résumé in just a short amount of time in Japan is nothing short of legendary. During his tenure with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he posted a jaw-dropping 2.02 ERA and racked up 524 strikeouts in just over 414 innings.
The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s Nippon Professional Baseball club, will also be owed a posting fee. However, the value of that fee will be a percentage of his signing bonus and won’t be a ...
Roki Sasaki ended the suspense of the most intriguing free agency of the offseason Friday, announcing his signing on his Instagram account.
Roki Sasaki could be the greatest Japanese pitcher ever. He hopes the Dodgers can turn him into just that, even if it means Shohei Ohtani outshines him.