When Will Roki Sasaki Sign With Dodgers, Padres, or Blue Jays? Everything We Know on His Timeline
The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays are anxiously waiting for Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki to make a decision on which Major League Baseball team he’ll join.
The 23-year-old pitcher has dominated headlines all offseason long, and his free agency is finally nearing its conclusion.
More news: Dodgers ‘Optimistic’ About Their Chances to Sign Roki Sasaki
Sasaki was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Tuesday, Dec. 10, kicking off his 45-day posting window for MLB teams.
After a first round of meetings with at least eight teams, Sasaki took second meetings with three teams: The Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays.
Now, he’s officially reached decision time.
While there’s no telling exactly when Sasaki will make his decision, it must be before 2 p.m. PT on Jan. 23. Thus, he has exactly a week to complete this process, or he’ll have to go back to Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2025 season.
Sasaki was waiting until the 2025 international signing period to kick off to maximize his potential earnings.
However, the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays are now eligible to trade for international bonus pool money, meaning Sasaki could technically wait a little longer to allow those teams to enhance their offers.
Read more: Dodgers Discussing Multiple Trades to Add International Bonus Pool Money for Roki Sasaki
On the flip side, though, it’s been clear throughout this whole process that money was not an issue for Sasaki.
If it was, he would’ve waited two more years to join MLB, when he would have been subject to the type of bidding war Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the center of last offseason.
Now that the 2025 international signing period is officially underway, though, Sasaki’s decision could come at any moment.
The longer he waits, the more difficult it will be for the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays to have a successful international signing period if they don’t sign Sasaki.
However, Sasaki isn’t going to rush a decision, as he knows how important it is to find the right home for at least the first half of his MLB career.
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
