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As teams around MLB craft their free agency plans, the latest Japanese phenom in Roki Sasaki is on all of their mind's. With the way his rookie contract will be set up, essentially every team in the league would be able to sign him.
That includes the Tampa Bay Rays, who were named as a potential suitor by Mark Fiensand of MLB.com. He credited the Rays' ability to, “get the most out of their players,” as a potential Sasaki selling point.
Since Sasaki is 23-years-old, he must sign a minor league contract capped at just over $7.1 million. It's the same approach Shohei Ohtani took when he joined the Los Angeles Angels. Furthermore, if his posting is delayed to the 2025 international signing period – which is expected – every team will have their full budget to spend.
Which is where a team like the Rays come in. They finished the 2024 campaign with the sixth-lowest payroll in all of baseball at just over $101 million. Tampa Bay hasn't been known as one of the biggest spenders around the league. But with Sasaki, they don't have to be.
And still, the Rays would be adding an elite arm to their rotation. Over his four years in NPB, Sasaki held a 30-15 record with a 2.02 ERA and a 524/91 K/BB ratio. He's coming off a campaign in which he held a 2.35 ERA and a 129/32 K/BB ratio. Sasaki will undoubtedly be a massive addition to any team's rotation.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have already been linked to Sasaki, due to their geographical location and having Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on their roster. The same goes for the San Diego Padres with California roots and Yu Darvish in the rotation.
But Roki Sasaki can pick and choose. While he'll consider the financial factors, all offers will be coming in the same ball park. He can primarily focus on team fit and future. The Rays may have missed the playoffs in 2024, but they made it every year from 2019-2023.
Perhaps their pitch to Sasaki could be the right-hander being the final piece Tampa Bay needs for a deep postseason run.
