Roki Sasaki just turned 22 years old this past November and is slated to be the hottest free agent on the market next off-season. According to Yahoo! Japan, Sasaki will make it a priority to push his current Japanese club Chiba Lotte Marines to post him next off-season and make him an amateur free agent in Major League Baseball.
Emerging on the scene as a global sensation back in the 2022 regular season game in the Nippon Professional Baseball League when he struck out 19 batters in a perfect game for the first time in league history. Once he caught the baseball world's eye with this game, scouts took notice and realized the combination of his high 90's fastball and his devastating splitter and forkball would fare him well in the MLB.
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— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 20, 2023
Roki Sasaki is not messing around tonight 😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/yIP4FHjCbh
Expecting Sasaki to be available for 2024 free agency, there are three way-too-early favorites to land the Japanese ace next off-season.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Special thanks to the newly signed two-way player Shohei Ohtani for deferring his $700 million contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have more spending money next off-season that could bring in Sasaki.
The Dodgers already have World Baseball Classic teammates in Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto locked in for the next decade. One could imagine it has to be enticing to Sasaki that he would be more comfortable joining a team with guys he is used to playing with. Sasaki will be classified as an international amateur free agent via an agreement with NPB. This will limit his earnings potential.
When free agency begins next Winter, expect the Dodgers to be named a front-runner to sign Sasaki. Throw in a potential World Series in the picture and you may have a no-brainer for Sasaki's decision.
New York Mets
One of the biggest losers of the 2023 offseason was the New York Mets. Not only did they miss out on both Ohtani and Yamamoto, but they haven't been able to attract any big-name free agents in quite some time. Steve Cohen has seemingly endless funds, yet it hasn't been enough to do much thus far this offseason.
Since the Mets haven't spent much this offseason, they will still have plenty of money to spread around to offer free agents for next winter as well -- with pitching being a desperate need for the club, Sasaki would have to be at the top of their priority list.
The crosstown rival New York Yankees may also be involved in the pursuit of Sasaki's services, but, the Yankees will also be focusing on keeping Gerrit Cole in town and avoiding his opt-out. If Sasaki wants to be the guy a franchise is built around and trusts the Mets front office to put pieces around him to make them a successful franchise again, Queens will be considered.
Boston Red Sox
Another club that will be desperate to bring some excitement and star power back to their franchise will be the Boston Red Sox. Fresh off their trade that sent Chris Sale out of town, Boston needs an ace on their starting rotation.
Before the start of the 2023 offseason the Red Sox were constantly linked with both Ohtani and Yamamoto and were listed by many baseball experts to sign at least one of the Japanese stars. They swung and missed on those opportunities.
Although they signed free agent Lucas Giolito, that won't be enough to put butts in the seats. That signing doesn't excite the fans. As the franchise continues to rebuild, they will be very active next off-season as well to put a winning team out in Fenway Park, while simultaneously bringing excitement back to Boston.
Signing a young phenom like Sasaki would improve their chances of doing so immensely. Much like the Mets a team with an opportunity to put pieces around Sasaki makes this an ideal destination for him as well.