Dodgers Analysis: Breaking Down the Rōki Sasaki Deal

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As many around the league expected, the Los Angeles Dodgers have inked 23-year-old Japanese right-handed pitcher Rōki Sasaki, adding him to an already stacked rotation and to what many believe is the best roster in Major League Baseball.

However, the uniqueness of this deal is what makes it so polarizing to many fans across the sport. It could also be confusing to some general baseball fans who aren’t as invested in all the rules for international free agents. So, what does Sasaki’s deal look like?

According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers have reportedly signed Sasaki with a $6.5 million signing bonus, which was more than the 2025 international pool money the team was bestowed.

Entering the opening of the 2025 international signing period on Wednesday, January 15th, the Dodgers were tied with the San Francisco Giants for the lowest amount in their pool at $5,146,200. The Dodgers took a $2 million hit on their pool this year, $1 million due to being over the luxury tax this past season, and an additional $1 million for signing Shohei Ohtani (1-year, $20.325 qualifying offer) last offseason.

So, before the Dodgers could solidify the deal with Sasaki, they needed to increase their current pool of money through trades. Numerous Major League Baseball insiders reported that the three finalists in the Sasaki sweepstakes (Padres, Blue Jays, Dodgers) were all looking to increase their pool money through trades.

Per Major League Baseball rules, a team can trade for more international pool money but only in $250 thousand increments and can only increase it by 60% of that team’s original number. That said, the maximum the Dodgers could receive during this period would have been $8,223,920.

In their efforts to increase their pool money, the Dodgers made two trades, one with the Philadelphia Phillies and one with the Cincinnati Reds.

The first trade with the Phillies, reported by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, involved the Dodgers sending minor league outfielder Dylan Campbell to the Phillies for either $750 thousand or $1 million in pool allotments.

Campbell, a right-handed hitter, was the Dodgers' fourth-round pick out of the University of Texas in 2023. He played his entire first full professional season at High-A Great Lakes. Campbell hit .251/.331/.372 with ten homers and forty-two stolen bases in a pitcher-friendly setting in the Midwest League. He can play all three outfield positions but spent most of his time in right field.

The next trade involved minor league outfielder Arnaldo Lantigua, who was shipped to the Reds for an additional $1.5 million in pool money, according to Francys Romero and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.

Lantigua, 19, signed out of the Dominican Republic two seasons ago for $700 thousand. The right-handed hitter has played two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and has yet to make the move stateside.

With both moves made, the Dodgers now have the funds to give Sasaki his $6.5 million deal, which is the highest international pool signing since the 2017 season. The Dodgers must also pay a posting fee to Sasaki’s former team, the Chiba Lotte Marines.

However, unlike the posting fee the Dodgers had to pay for Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($50.6 million), this time, it was a flat 20% of whatever Sasaki signed for, so in this case, it will just be an additional $1.3 million.

Overall, it is an astoundingly cheap $7.8 million investment to one of the best pitching prospects in Major League Baseball history and perhaps even better than 22-year-old Paul Skenes.

Another layer of the deal Sasaki signed is that since he was posted before he was twenty-five, Sasaki was classified as an international amateur free agent, meaning he was not only limited to the international pool money but does not yet have to occupy a 40-man roster spot.

This leaves the Dodgers’ 40-man roster at thirty-nine total players, giving them much-needed flexibility as they look to put the finishing touches on one of the best-built teams in the Andrew Friedman era.

According to Francy Romero, the deal between Sasaki and the Dodgers should be announced as early as next week. This would give us our first official look at the young right-hander in Dodger Blue before the team breaks off for camp next month.

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