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102 mph-throwing Rōki Sasaki linked to Dodgers signing rumors

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Updated  November 4, 2024 8:57pm PST
Los Angeles Dodgers
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LOS ANGELES - Could the Dodgers once again bring yet another big-money Japanese free agent to Los Angeles?

Flamethrowing right-hander Rōki Sasaki could be the next overseas star to join the Boys in Blue, according to rumors in MLB circles.

According to a report from sports journalist Francys Romero, Sasaki declined an offer from the Chiba Lotte Marines, the Japanese team the 23-year-old pitcher spent four seasons with. Romero, however, added in his report that Sasaki's future remains uncertain as the Marines have yet to make a public announcement regarding the pitcher's contract situation.

"One possibility is being posted to sign with an MLB team, while another is continuing negotiations with the Marines," Romero wrote on social media to his 18,400 followers on X.

Should Sasaki become available for MLB teams to sign via the posting system, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal believes the Dodgers are "heavy, heavy favorites" to land the Japanese ace.

"The suspicion is, among many in the industry – almost everyone in the industry – that if this guy is posted," Rosenthal said in his Fair Territory podcast. "Rōki Sasaki becomes available, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the heavy, heavy favorites to sign him. Can you imagine what that team would mean to Japan than it already has?"

If Sasaki does end up being posted, the lanky 6-foot-2 righty could join surefire National League MVP Shohei Ohtani and fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The trio were teammates on the Samurai Japan team that won the gold medal in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Sasaki made global headlines for his pitches exceeding 102 mph on the radar gun before and during the WBC tournament. During the tournament's semifinals, Sasaki struck out Mexico's Randy Arozarena with a 102-mph heater.

Sasaki, nicknamed in Japan as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era," struck out 11 batters in 7 and ⅔ innings with a 3.52 ERA during the 2023 WBC. In Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he struck out 129 hitters in 111 regular-season innings for the Marines in the 2024 season.

Sasaki also made headlines for throwing a perfect game for the Marines in 2022 as a 20-year-old.

If Sasaki were to suit up for the Dodgers for the 2025 MLB season, his MLB debut could take place in the Tokyo Dome as the Boys in Blue will face the Chicago Cubs – a team with former Samurai Japan teammates Shōta Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki – in March of the upcoming season.