Dodgers News: Rōki Sasaki Has Met with Five Teams So Far, Dodgers Not Among Them

12/26/2024 06:57 PM

Leading into the 2024 Major League Baseball annual Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, all eyes were on top free agent Juan Soto and what team would dish out the mega multi-year to the generational hitter.

However, one name got just as much buzz during the meetings despite Soto settling for a massive 15-year $765 million. That name was 23-year-old Japanese phenom Rōki Sasaki, who the Chiba Lotte Marines officially posted on December 9th, 2024.

With the posting, the young right-hander now officially has forty-five calendar days to negotiate with all thirty Major League teams. However, it is widely considered that Sasaki will sign once the 2025 Major League Baseball International Signing period opens to maximize his profit.

Teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and both New York teams are considered the early favorites for Sasaki. Still, he is a viable option for all Major League Baseball teams due to his age and the low contractual demands for a player of his caliber.

At the meetings, Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, stated that the righty would meet with interested teams the following week after the meetings in Los Angeles, where Sasaki is staying during the process and over the holidays.

Now that we are more than a few weeks removed from that original posting date, with the 2025 New Year around the corner, we have five reported teams that have met with Sasaki, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are not one of them…yet.

Sasaki reportedly met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, and Chicago Cubs.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young has confirmed that team representatives met with Sasaki last week, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle also reported that the Giants are also "believed to have met" with Sasaki and his representatives.

The Chicago Cubs met with Sasaki on December 20th, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY, the New York Yankees and New York Mets were the first teams to meet Sasaki since he posted.

Interestingly enough, the two teams widely considered the favorites for Sasaki’s services, the Dodgers and Padres, have yet to officially meet with Sasaki. However, Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman did state that Sasaki was a “major priority” for the organization, perhaps even more so with the departure of right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler, who signed with the Boston Red Sox this week.

Sasaki will continue to meet with teams on his shortlist over the coming weeks but must sign by January 23rd, or else he’ll return to the NPB.

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