The Los Angeles Dodgers, seen across the industry as frontrunners to land Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, are among the teams that now have met with the former Chiba Lotte Marines right-hander during his posting window, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Saturday.
The Dodgers join the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants among those known or reported to have met with Sasaki and his representatives, namely Joel Wolfe of Wasserman. The Orange County Register first reported the Dodgers meeting on Saturday afternoon.
Sasaki is expected to sign at some point between the start of the 2025 international signing period, which begins on Jan. 15, and before his 45-day posting window expires on Jan. 24.
That the Dodgers met with Sasaki should come as little surprise. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called pursuing the 23-year-old a “major priority” in what has already been a busy offseason for the reigning World Series champions.
The hard thrower has been a subject of intrigue for years for a club with a clear vision of maximizing a large Japanese market. Already, the Dodgers have executed that vision with the signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Adding Sasaki at a bargain cost due to his age could serve to make the rich even richer.
“He’s incredibly talented,” Friedman said at last month’s Winter Meetings. “Really physical. Incredible carrying fastball. His split’s a well-above-average major-league pitch. He’s worked hard on a slider, and it’s a really good pitch. He has talked about his desire to be the best pitcher in the world, and we believe that he is capable of being the best pitcher in the world.
“We’re going to do whatever we can, and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do the same thing. So what that ultimately means at the end, I don’t know. But as long as we have thoughtfully put our best foot forward, then I feel good about at least the effort.”
The Dodgers, along with the Padres, have been considered as favorites for Sasaki’s services. The Padres, like the Dodgers, own a potential advantage due to who is already on their roster. While Los Angeles has both Ohtani and Yamamoto, San Diego has Yu Darvish on its roster. Like Ohtani and Yamamoto, Darvish was also a teammate of Sasaki’s for Samurai Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Wolfe himself has repeatedly pushed back on the idea that Sasaki has already come to a handshake agreement with a club, notably the Dodgers, given industry speculation of what, on paper, appears to be an obvious fit. The Dodgers’ interest, however, has remained obvious.
(Photo: AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
