Dodgers announce deal with prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who gets $6.5 million signing bonus

The Dodgers announced their deal with prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki on Wednesday, agreeing to a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus.

A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Dodgers on Friday and was to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. He joined fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a decision many baseball executives long expected.

Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize a contract. He was considered an international amateur under Major League Baseball’s rules because he is under 25 and does not have six years service in the Japanese major leagues, making him subject to international signing bonus pools.

The Dodgers started with a pool of $5,146,200 but increased it to $8,102,800 with a pair of trades last week, acquiring $1.5 million from Cincinnati and $1,456,600 from Philadelphia.

The Dodgers are planning to use a six-man rotation, which could ease Sasaki’s transition to Major League Baseball, as the Dodgers attempt to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.

Sasaki was made available to MLB teams for a 45-day window by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League under the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB.

The Marines will get a release fee of $1,625,000, calculated at 25% of the amount of Sasaki’s signing bonus.

During a news conference at the winter meetings last month, Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, denied an agreement with the Dodgers was already in place. Wolfe said MLB had investigated.

Sasaki was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings during a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He went 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts in 2023, when he had an oblique injury. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Marines and pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.

Among international amateur free agents, Los Angeles also agreed to deals with Venezuelan infielders Luis Tovar ($397,500) and Moises Acacio ($197,500), Panamanian left-hander Adrian Torres ($362,500) and Colombian shortstop Luis Luna ($137,500).

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