The most intriguing free agent of the MLB offseason is closer to making his decision about where he’ll sign in advance of the 2025 season.
Hearing from multiple sources that the Padres are out in Roki Sasaki.
They will begin their international signings of Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez in the next few hours.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 17, 2025
Francys Romero reported Friday pitcher Roki Sasaki has told the San Diego Padres they are no longer a finalist for his services. That would leave the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays as the two teams in the running to sign Sasaki with one week left in his 45-day window to negotiate a major league contract.
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Not coincidentally, Romero and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported Friday that the Padres are set to sign amateur Carlos Alvarez, a left-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, draining from the same international bonus money pool they would use to give Sasaki his signing bonus.
Once he’s passed his physical, the Japanese right-hander will sign a minor league contract, and likely earn the major league minimum salary (in addition to his signing bonus) if and when he is promoted to the majors. Sasaki’s 45-day signing period to negotiate with major league teams is scheduled to end next Thursday.
Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images
Although Sasaki is just 23 and is limited to a minor league contract under the rules for international amateur free agents (as defined by Major League Baseball), he should be able to help his new team right away.
When he was 20, Sasaki threw a 19-strikeout perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2022. In his next start, he threw eight more perfect innings in a row. In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, his fastball sat at 100 mph.
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Last season, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts for Chiba Lotte, with 129 strikeouts in 111 innings.
Most major league teams submitted a presentation to Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, in hopes of signing the pitcher after he was posted by the Marines in December. Less than half of those teams were granted in-person meetings.
In January, only three teams were granted a second meeting with Sasaki in their home cities: the Padres, Dodgers and Blue Jays.
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
