Just hours after Roki Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, did a tell-all about his client at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called the 23-year-old international free agent a “major priority” for the team.
“He is someone that, obviously, is a major priority for us,” Friedman said in his suite at the Hilton Anatole. “We are going to do whatever we can and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do the exact same thing.”
Sasaki, who turned 23 last month, was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Tuesday morning. Sasaki’s decision to move to Major League Baseball at this stage of his career cost him the potential of a $300-plus million contract. However, it was more important for the Japanese sensation to see his dream of playing baseball in the States become a reality.
“There are no absolutes in baseball, and in Roki’s eyes, there are no absolutes in life,” Wolfe said Tuesday. “It’s always been his dream to come to the major leagues since he was in high school.”
Sasaki is coming to MLB after sporting a 2.10 ERA across 414.2 innings pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball the last four years. Sasaki was also a part of Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he was teammates with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Friedman hopes that helps the Dodgers in their pitch.
“I’m sure that they talk. I’m sure that they will,” Friedman said of the three Team Japan teammates. “I don’t know what their comfort level is, but I know that they would be honest with their opinions, and I think that would be really helpful for the Dodgers.”
Sasaki will cost a team just their international bonus pool in 2025 when he signs after Jan. 15. Thus, he’s one of the most coveted free agents ever — and the Dodgers plans on making the best pitch possible.
“We’re gonna put our best foot forward about what we feel like we can provide short-term, long-term, with our pitching group, veteran players, and do everything we can to put our best foot forward.”
Friedman has only had the opportunity to see Sasaki in person once at the end of the year, but said there’s so much that impresses him about the young pitcher.
“He’s incredibly talented,” Friedman said. “Really physical, incredible carrying fastball. His split is well above the average major league pitch. He’s worked hard on his slider, and it’s a really good pitch.”
Finally, Friedman discussed Sasaki’s expectations for himself, and agreed with them, despite them being so lofty.
“He has talked about his desire to be the best pitcher in the world,” Friedman said, “and we believe he’s capable of being the best pitcher in the world.”
