Roki Sasaki
Roki Sasaki is this year's Yoshinobu Yamamoto with one crucial difference: Sasaki is too young to be eligible for the type of money Yamamoto got from the Dodgers. Instead, Sasaki is guaranteed to sign the cheapest deal out of any marquee player available.
Teams are limited to how much they can offer him by how much they have available in their International Free Agent Bonus Pool. As such, it's likely to come down to relationships.
The Dodgers are among the front runners with fellow Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto already on the roster. The Padres are believed to be their top competitor because one of their aces, Yu Darvish, is Sasaki's mentor. Sasaki will sign after January 15th because that's when the bonus pool money resets.
If he doesn't end up in Los Angeles or Sand Diego, the best remaining fits are the Yankees, Rangers, Orioles, Giants, Mets, Red Sox, Mariners, Phillies, and Cubs. Still, every team in baseball will be interested in the young phenom's services.
.@BenBadler ranks the Red Sox as having the 7th-best odds of landing Roki Sasaki.
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) December 2, 2024
Dodger, Padres, Rangers, Mets, Yankees, and Orioles are all ahead of them in that order.
Notes he would stand out more in Boston compared to the Dodgers and Padres rotations. pic.twitter.com/oRprnjAbcb