When MLB free agency opens up, the New York Yankees and every team interested in Juan Soto will make their pitches to the superstar. However, another potential free agent situation might be as big as Soto’s. Roki Sasaki, a 22-year-old right-hander from Japan, might be posted.
Sasaki isn’t guaranteed to be posted, but the future ace wants to pitch in Major League Baseball.
Searching for landing spots, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com named the Yankees a fit but highlighted the challenges in him coming to Major League Baseball.
“Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s move to the Majors caused a bidding war last offseason, and while the potential of Sasaki coming over from Japan would carry the same excitement factor, his age would prevent a similar free-agent frenzy,” Feinsand wrote on October 21.
“Players younger than 25 years old who have not reached six years of service in a foreign major league are subject to MLB’s international amateur signing bonus pool rules, setting a cap on their contracts. Shohei Ohtani faced a similar situation in 2017, signing with the Angels for $2.315 million. Sasaki, who has a 1.95 ERA over his first four seasons in Japan, would become one of the top available starters if he were posted.”
Sasaki ‘Wants to Leave Again’
Sasaki has requested to be posted in the past, but the Chiba Lotte Marines have yet to grant that request. The New York Yankees would have to wait for them to do so in order to sign him.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, “he wants to leave again,” and their relationship is “damaged.”
While that doesn’t mean the Marines will post him, it could help his chances. The issue with Sasaki being posted is that they’d only receive a posting dee of less than $2 million, which would be significantly higher if they waited until 2026.
“Sasaki’s relationship with the Marines was damaged accordingly, and he wants to leave again. The Marines plan to decide whether to put Sasaki in the posting system after the season,” Passan wrote on August 27.
“Were they to do so before 2026, they would receive a posting fee of less than $2 million. By contrast, the Orix Buffaloes received a $50.6 million fee from the Dodgers on the deal for Yamamoto, who was 25.”
Passan’s latest report as of the end of August was that “no one knows” if Sasaki will be posted, adding that a decision could come in mid-November.
“In short: No one knows whether Sasaki will be posted. Lotte controls the entire process and can keep Sasaki through the 2026 season if it so desires. The decision should come around mid-November, following the conclusion of the Nippon Professional Baseball season.
“If Sasaki is posted, the mania will not resemble last year with Yamamoto, when seven large-market teams climbed over one another for his services. With the difference in international bonus money available to teams negligible, the differentiator in Sasaki’s case would not be money,” Passan wrote. “All 30 teams will scramble to find out what it is if the most intriguing player this winter finds his way to MLB.”
How Sasaki Would Help the Yankees
Re-signing Soto wouldn’t have much of an impact on signing Sasaki for the New York Yankees.
Because Sasaki is younger than 25 years old, he would be subjected to MLB’s international amateur signing bonus pool rules, which don’t allow him to earn a contract like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported that Sasaki could only get up to $7 million because of the rule.
“That means the most Sasaki could get is around a $7 million bonus (and no guaranteed big league money),” McDaniel wrote in August. “Since money likely wouldn’t be the biggest factor in his choice of team, he might have to settle for as little as a few million, depending on which club he picks and how many deals they’ve already struck.”
Landing Sasaki and re-signing Soto would be the perfect offseason for the Yankees, but it’s uncertain how realistic that is.
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