Here's the Deal with Roki Sasaki

December 2024

Roki Sasaki is a 23 year old right-handed pitcher leaving the Chiba Lotte Marines for the MLB. Sasaki comes from the Nippon Professional Baseball league where he has a career ERA of 2.02 and the name “The Monster of the Reiwa Era.” He began drawing international attention in April 2022, when he threw a 19-strikeout perfect game and retired 52 batters straight, an NPB record. With a four-seam ranging 98-102 mph and touching 103, and a splitter with an outstanding 57% whiff rate, there is no question Sasaki is an exceptional international talent. 

Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki / AFP via Getty Images

Sasaki has a situation similar to Shohei Ohtani’s in 2017. He is currently two years younger than the required age to enter into unrestricted free agency and has less than nine years experience in the NPB. This means he can only sign a minor league deal as an amateur free agent. This greatly limits his compensation to the International Bonus Pool. If Sasaki chooses to sign under the 2024 period, the maximum he may make from this is $2.5 million with the Dodgers. If he chooses to sign under the 2025 period, which renews January 15th, he may make up to $7.56 million. Similar to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s deal, Sasaki could make 50x what he would earn now if he waits until he turns 25. Many critics of the MLB’s system believe this does not accurately reflect foreign talent. Ken Rosenthal proposes exempting Sasaki from the pool limits. He also believes this would allow teams to sign Sasaki without disrupting previously made agreements with other international amateurs. Ben Badler opposes Rosenthal’s idea, claiming it could set a dangerous precedent and MLB teams should not subsidize teams by creating bonus pools. 

Sasaki has shown he values other things over his compensation, enough to pursue his dreams and join the MLB two years early, but what does this mean for other exceptional international amateur athletes who feel differently?