Rumor: 23-Year-Old Japanese Ace Roki Sasaki Coming To MLB, Will The Red Sox Bid On Him?

[Brock Beauchamp]

Roki Sasaki has nudged Juan Soto out of the limelight, at least for a day. The young Japanese phenom announced he will come to Major League Baseball in 2025.

Sasaki, unlike last year's import Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will post under the minor league rules due to his age and experience in NPB. Remember when Shohei Ohtani came to America to play and all teams were in on him? Same thing here. There will be no $300 million contracts in play as with Yamamoto, meaning most teams should be courting the young right-hander this offseason.

Sasaki has been simply phenomenal in Japan. He pitched all of the 2024 season as a 22-year-old and only turned 23 this week. In parts of three seasons in NPB, he has a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts in only 394 innings pitched.

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[notin]

Bid? Yes.  Win? No…

[Hugh2]

It will come down to which team can sell their organization, town and culture.  It won’t be about the money

[Duran Is The Man]

Dodgers for sure.

[mvp 78]

Can't outspend anyone with Int'l money. He gets to pick and choose where he wants to go. It won't be here. 

[Jasonbay44]

Based on their recent history, and the impact of Ohtani, I have strong feeling he’s a Dodger.