Roki Sasaki, Japanese star pitcher, to be posted to MLB

Let the breathless speculation begin: One of the world’s best pitchers is expected to be out there for the taking, and unlike MLB’s current crop of free agents, all 30 teams  foreseeably can afford him.

Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old righthander from Japan, will be posted by his current club, the Chiba Lotte Marines, the team’s X account announced Saturday. Because he’s a foreign league player under age 25, MLB’s collective bargaining agreement will classify him as an international amateur — meaning he’ll sign a minor-league contract,  initially will have severely capped earning potential because of bonus pool limits and will be under team control for six years (the final three will be via arbitration).

That precludes the financial shootout that dominated the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes last year (Yamamoto was 25). Sasaki’s route  instead will emulate that of Shohei Ohtani, who signed with the Angels in return for a $2.315 million signing bonus; the Angels also sent Ohtani’s former team a $20 million posting fee.

In four seasons, Sasaki has a 2.02 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP with 524 strikeouts and 91 walks in 414 2/3 innings. He pitched a perfect game in 2022, the 16th in Nippon Professional Baseball history. He pitched to a 2.35 ERA in 2024 with a 4.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio, though his average fastball velocity dropped from 98.9 mph to 96.9.

“Since I joined the team, the team has been listening to my thoughts about my future challenge in MLB, and I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post now,” Sasaki said in a statement posted to the Chiba Lotte X account in Japanese. “There were many things that did not go well during my five years with the Marines, but I was always supported by my teammates, staff, front office, and fans, and was able to come this far by concentrating only on baseball. I will do my best to work my way up from my minor [league] contract to become the best player in the world, so that I will have no regrets in my one and only baseball career and so that I can live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me this time."

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and the Yankees, who have had scouts watching Sasaki most of the season, have expressed interest. The Dodgers, who wooed  Ohtani and Yamamoto, are equally interested.

Sasaki has yet to be posted, but once he is, he’ll have 45 days to make his choice. That creates a wrinkle: The signing period for international free agents runs from Jan. 15 to Dec. 15, so if Sasaki’s current team dawdles on posting him in an effort to retain its ace another season, MLB teams — most of whom spent their bonus pool money right away — won’t be able to sign him until next season.

“It's a big blow for the team, of course,” Chiba Lotte manager Masato Yoshii said via X. “However, I've played in America myself, so I understand how he feels. I also understand his desire to take on the challenge now that he's young. To be honest, he still has a lot to learn, but I think he'll be able to hone himself and improve his level in America. When I saw him pitch for the first time in the bullpen at the Ishigakijima camp in 2020, it was the biggest shock I've seen since I first saw Hideo Nomo. I want him to prove that over there. Do your best."

A Pacific Rim evaluator from a National League team told Newsday this summer that Sasaki has two 80-grade pitches (generally, players are graded from a 20 to 80 scale) — a triple-digit fastball and a devastating splitter. He also boasts an improving slider.

“He’s a unique talent,” Stearns said at the general managers' meetings in San Antonio this past week. Stearns saw Sasaki in person in Japan in September, saying it was a “concerted effort to see them in their own environment.”

Teams generally have about $5 million to $7 million a year to spend on international talent, and that usually gets divvied up among a number of players. The Sasaki pursuit, though, will end up being a top-heavy spending spree.

According to Baseball America, the Reds, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, Athletics, Mariners and Rays are projected to have the most bonus pool money to spend at more than $7.5 million. The Mets and Yankees are expected to have a little more than $6 million to spend and the Dodgers are in the lowest tier at about $5.1 million.

With Erik Boland and Tim Healey

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.