Even with such big name free agents as Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty remaining unsigned as the MLB offseason moves ahead into 2025, and with just 35 days to go before the start of Spring Training, the most coveted free agent on the market is a 23-year-old who has never played a single inning in the Major Leagues.
Naturally, that free agent is Roki Sasaki, the Japanese pitching sensation who came within one inning of pitching back-to-back perfect games in the Pacific League in April 2023 and whose fastball has been measured at 102 mph. It was only after eight immaculate innings that his manager pulled him from the second game that he missed out.
Sasaki now hopes to transition from Japan’s professional league to Major League Baseball, the big show. It should come as no surprise that at least 20 teams are interested in Sasaki. The ten other MLB teams haven’t tried to get Sasaki to take them into consideration either, which is the only surprise.
GM’s Message Could Indicate “Advanced” Prospects for the Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants are the seven teams whose representatives Sasaki reportedly met in person. Then, on Tuesday, it was reported that Sasaki had also met with another “mystery team” while on a recent trip to Los Angeles. Now that he is back in Japan, the pitcher has until January 23 to decide which team will sign him through 2025 and beyond.
Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, claims that the pitching sensation might still meet with one or two clubs again. Last week, Los Angeles general manager Brandon Gomes gave a cryptic, 11-word statement when asked if the Dodgers would be one of those teams.
“At this moment, I am unable to say. I’m hoping so.
What was meant by that? Did Gomes have more information than he claimed? The hazy message was seen as a sign of hope by Sebastian Abdón Ibarra, the writer of the well-known Dodger Blue blog.
Ibarra added, “That would suggest the Dodgers have advanced in the Sasaki sweepstakes.”
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