The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced the signing of Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki on Wednesday.
Last Friday, Sasaki announced on social media that he intended to sign a free-agent deal with the Dodgers. The Dodgers, in turn, posted a welcome to him without revealing contract details.
Per Spotrac, Sasaki signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal.
He got an introduction to Los Angeles on Tuesday, sitting courtside as the Lakers beat the Washington Wizards. He met LeBron James and his fellow Japan native, Rui Hachimura.
Sasaki, 23, was the most coveted international free agent of the MLB offseason. He chose to sign with the reigning World Series champions, who have bolstered their oft-injured starting rotation immensely since the winter began.
Sasaki will join a rotation that will be headlined by countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and also feature two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2024 All-Star Tyler Glasnow. Snell, most recently of the San Francisco Giants, also signed with Los Angeles this offseason.
Now that he’s officially signed to an MLB team, Sasaki took his place at No. 1 on the Baseball America top prospects list on Wednesday.
Sasaki became a folk hero when he set a fastball record for high schoolers with a 101 mph clocking and introduced himself on the world stage during the World Baseball Classic in 2023. In his only start — a win against Mexico — Sasaki averaged 100.5 mph on his fastball.
He set a single-game record in Japan in 2022 with 19 strikeouts, including a stretch of 13 consecutive Ks, in a perfect game.
