Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays are finalists to sign the Japanese right-hander. International signing period opens Wednesday, and Sasaki must sign by January 23.
Ace Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki technically cannot sign until Wednesday a the earliest, when the 2025 international signing period opens. But the 23-year-old right-hander has reportedly already started eliminating potential destinations.
Already on Monday, four teams have reportedly been told they are out of the running for Sasaki.
News first came during a Giants press conference. From Andrew Baggarly at The Athletic:
Giants GM Zack Minasian confirmed what had been reported over the past few weeks: that the Giants were among the teams to make an in-person presentation to Sasaki last month at Wasserman Sports offices in Los Angeles. But Sasaki has whittled down his short list to an even shorter one. And the Giants are not on it.
Will Sammon at The Athletic reported Monday that the Mets were out as well, which was confirmed by New York Post comrades Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.
Then Jack Curry of YES Network reported the Yankees were informed they are out on Sasaki. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported that both the Yankees and Rangers are out, with Kennedi Landry of MLB.com among the Texas beat writers to also report the latter.
It’s long been considered and reported that the Dodgers and Padres are the two favorites to sign Sasaki, who by getting posted two years prior to turning 25 is subject to international bonus limits. He’ll sign for a bonus of likely under $10 million, then will be paid low, near-minimum salaries for three seasons before even reaching salary arbitration, let alone true free agency.
Earlier Monday, Ben Badler at Baseball America handicapped the teams most likely to sign Sasaki. The Dodgers are first and Padres second, which again was expected, but the Yankees were third and the Rangers fourth. Now, those latter two teams are out.
Also earlier Monday, Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin, and Andy McCullough reported the list of teams known to have in-person meetings with Sasaki — Padres, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Giants, and Rangers, plus the Blue Jays as well.
Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic later Monday reported the Cubs were out.
Jeff Passan made it more plain on Monday afternoon, identifying the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays as the three finalists.
The finalists for Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN. Sasaki will decide on his team by the closing of his posting window Jan. 23.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2025
Which means it’s still technically possible that a plane to Toronto could be involved in the upcoming reporting of where Sasaki might sign. Perhaps that’s just the jolt the hot stove needed in the new year.