The Major League Baseball offseason is finally here with the 2024-2025 free agency period now open. There are a ton of different free agents that can sign with any team that they wish.
However, the most intriguing superstar free agent not named Juan Soto may be coming over through international free agency.
According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, Japanese superstar ace Roki Sasaki is expected to be posted this winter for MLB teams to sign.
“With indications pointing to Sasaki joining this year’s class, we’ll include him here as he immediately would be among the most sought-after players available,” McDaniel wrote. “Given the rules in place for players coming over from Japan before they turn 25 years old, it doesn’t make any financial sense for him to get his club to post him this year because, like Shohei Ohtani, he would be limited to the international bonus pools that are all under $8 million; if he comes after Dec. 15, the pools reset and he could get as much as $7 million or so, but if he comes before he’ll be limited to roughly $2.5 million at most.”
Sasaki, 23, holds a career 2.02 ERA in four seasons in the NPB. He features elite velocity and command as well as a splitter that sits over 90 mph.
The most intriguing aspect of Sasaki’s free agency would be that he could sign with any of the 30 MLB teams.
A player like Soto could only realistically land with a team that can afford a $600 million contract. There are only a few of those teams.
But since Sasaki would be coming over as a 23-year-old, he would only be eligible for a minor league contract with a signing bonus of less than $10 million.
Still, the Dodgers remain the heavy favorite to land Sasaki, as long as he is posted this winter.
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