The Philadelphia Phillies’ pursuit of Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki appears to have stalled. Despite their strong interest in the 23-year-old phenom, the Phillies have not been included among the teams granted a meeting with Sasaki.
“We have not been invited to talk to him at this point,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski revealed to reporters. “We sent in our original info, they know we would very much like to have a presentation, but we haven’t been invited to the table,” he added, as quoted by Paul Casella on X, formerly Twitter.
Sasaki has sparked a frenzy among MLB teams since officially getting posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on December 11. With his blazing fastball that regularly touches 100 mph and his dominance in domestic leagues and the World Baseball Classic, Sasaki is considered the most coveted pitcher on the free-agent market. The young star, who threw a 19-strikeout perfect game in 2022, ended last season with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 111 innings.
Could the Phillies miss out on Roki Sasaki before they get to talk to him?

The Phillies’ inability to secure a meeting may signal their diminishing chances of landing the highly sought-after right-hander. Several other teams, including the New York Yankees and New York Mets, have already met with Sasaki and his representatives in Southern California. The Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres are also heavily in the mix. Both the Dodgers and Padres are considered frontrunners.
Sasaki’s situation is unique due to MLB’s international spending rules. Because he is only 23 and lacks the experience required for unrestricted free agency, his signing bonus is capped within teams’ international spending pools, limiting his financial options to the league minimum salary and a bonus between $5 million and $7 million. This arrangement levels the financial playing field and places greater emphasis on a team’s fit and ability to help Sasaki transition to MLB.
The Phillies’ exclusion could reflect Sasaki’s preferences or a competitive strategy by his agent, Joel Wolfe, who confirmed that Sasaki will meet teams in person before returning to Japan for the holidays. Sasaki might also revisit finalist cities after the holidays, according to Wolfe.
For the Phillies, the missed opportunity represents a disappointing turn during an offseason where they’ve already tempered expectations for “impactful” signings. Philadelphia’s hope of bolstering their rotation with Sasaki’s elite talent now hangs in limbo as the team awaits further developments in the phenom’s decision-making process. Whether Sasaki’s representatives revisit the Phillies or maintain their current course, Philadelphia’s road to securing his signature has become significantly steeper.