3 Dodgers who won’t be back if Los Angeles lands Japanese ace Roki Sasaki
Roki Sasaki will soon be made available, and the Dodgers have a chance to add him to their already-stacked starting rotation.
Japanese ace Roki Sasaki appears to be headed to MLB. It was announced early Saturday morning that he would be posted by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, and once the move is made official he will have 45 days to sign with any of the 30 big-league teams.
This news is a bit surprising: Given that Sasaki is under 25 years of age, he’s only able to sign a Minor League deal with a signing bonus, much like what Shohei Ohtani did when he made the transition to MLB. He will not be able to make anything close to the $325 million that fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto did last offseason.
Considering his cheap price tag, all 30 teams will presumably show some level of interest. Since Sasaki gets to hand-pick where he goes, though, there’s every reason to believe he’ll end up with the Los Angeles Dodgers and get to play with Ohtani and Yamamoto. It’s far from a done deal, but the Dodgers are considered clearcut favorites.
Assuming that the Dodgers get him, that could have a ripple effect on the rest of the roster. If they land Sasaki, these three players might not be back in 2025.
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