LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers made an exciting announcement regarding their acquisition of the highly sought-after Japanese pitcher, Roki Sasaki, on Wednesday, confirming a minor league contract that includes a signing bonus of $6.5 million.
Sasaki, a dominant 23-year-old right-handed pitcher known for his fastball that can exceed 100 mph, had revealed his decision to join the Dodgers last Friday. He was scheduled to be formally introduced at a news conference held at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. In a significant move, he joins other renowned Japanese talents, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, at the Dodgers, a choice anticipated by many baseball executives.
With a deadline set for Thursday to finalize his contract, Sasaki fell under the category of an international amateur according to Major League Baseball regulations. Being under 25 years old with less than six years of service in Japan’s top league made him eligible for international signing bonus pools.
The Dodgers initially had a signing bonus pool of $5,146,200, which they expanded to $8,102,800 through two recent trades, one acquiring $1.5 million from Cincinnati and another bringing in $1,456,600 from Philadelphia.
In a strategic move, the Dodgers plan to implement a six-man rotation, which could facilitate Sasaki’s adjustment to Major League Baseball as they aim to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the New York Yankees achieved this from 1998 to 2000.
The Chiba Lotte Marines from Japan’s Pacific League granted Sasaki availability to MLB clubs for a 45-day period, following the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB. As part of the deal, the Marines are set to receive a release fee amounting to $1,625,000, calculated as 25% of Sasaki’s signing bonus.
At last month’s winter meetings, Sasaki’s representative, Joel Wolfe, clarified that there was no pre-existing agreement with the Dodgers, mentioning that MLB had conducted an investigation into the matter.
In his previous season, Sasaki boasted a record of 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA across 18 games, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings, despite being limited by shoulder issues. In 2023, he recorded a 7-4 record with a remarkable 1.78 ERA over 15 starts but faced some challenges due to an oblique injury. Across his four seasons with the Marines, he holds a career record of 29-15 with an impressive 2.10 ERA and famously pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.
In addition to Sasaki, the Dodgers also reached agreements with several international amateur free agents, including Venezuelan infielders Luis Tovar ($397,500) and Moises Acacio ($197,500), Panamanian left-hander Adrian Torres ($362,500), and Colombian shortstop Luis Luna ($137,500).
