MLB Rumors: Rōki Sasaki Believed to Have 'Likely' Picked Dodgers by Industry Insiders

The Los Angeles Dodgers might not be done adding to their star-studded rotation.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the "widespread industry belief" is that Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki has already chosen where he wants to sign, and that his "most likely" choice is the Dodgers.

Sasaki, who turned 23 on Nov. 3, is joining the MLB for the 2025 season after a dominant four seasons with Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball. He qualifies as an international amateur free agent and can receive a limited amount of money on his first contract.

Should he choose to join the Dodgers he would pair up with countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on what is shaping up to be one of the strongest pitching lineups in the MLB.

Sasaki posted a 2.10 ERA through 394.2 innings in four NPB seasons. He struck out 129 batters in 111 innings while finishing his final campaign with a 2.35 ERA.

His contract will be limited by MLB international signing rules to a minor league deal, plus a bonus related to the size of each team's international signing pool.

Each team's bonus pool will reset when the new signing period begins on Jan. 15. The size of the pools range from $5.15 million to $7.6 million, with the Dodgers projected to end up on the lower end of that range, per MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

Mayo noted teams can receive additional bonus pool money as part of a trade. That's how the Los Angeles Angels gathered enough funds to hand Ohtani his $2.3 million bonus when he joined MLB in 2017.

Should Sasaki have waited until age 25, he could have earned a deal closer to the 12 years and $325 million Yamamoto received from the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season.

Like Ohtani, though, Sasaki could put himself on track for an even larger deal if he is able to find success against major league competition.

After the Chiba Lotte Marines announced he would be posted and could join MLB ahead of the 2025 season, the pitcher said in a statement translated by Yakyu Cosmopolitan that his goal was to "do my best to climb up from a minor league contract and become the best player in the world."

If Sasaki was available on the open market, the Dodgers would likely still be considered a favorite to sign him. The team has already committed more than $1 billion in deferred money in order to offer lucrative contracts to Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez.

Acquiring Sasaki on a relatively affordable contract would help the Dodgers add another potential star without further racking up that bill.

But other clubs could still be in the running for Sasaki, who likely won't sign with a club until the bonus pools reset in mid-January. ESPN's Jeff Passan mentioned the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs as potential contenders for Sasaki this winter.

Should Sasaki decide he wants to aim for the No. 1 spot in a rotation, a destination that does not already have Ohtani, Yamamoto and Snell would be a better fit.