Angels Officially Out of Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes

The Los Angeles Angels have officially been eliminated from the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), ESPN's Major League Baseball insider Jeff Passan reported the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are the three finalists.

The finalists for Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN. Sasaki will decide on his team by the closing of his posting window Jan. 23.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 13, 2025

At the start of the day, the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants were still reportedly in the running for Sasaki. However, as the day progressed, news surfaced that each team, as well as the Chicago Cubs, had been eliminated.

The Angels were never considered to be a favorite to sign the Japanese free agent. That title belongs to the Dodgers and Padres. However, the Halos did have an outside chance early on.

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Sasaki is said to have had in-person meetings last week with both the Blue Jays and Padres. His agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, is based in Los Angeles, which makes arranging an in-person meeting relatively simple, especially since Sasaki has been using Southern California as his base during his 45-day window.

The Blue Jays are considered underdogs in the race. Despite having employed Yusei Kikuchi last season, they traded him to the Houston Astros at the deadline before Kikuchi signed with the Angels in free agency.

As a Japanese player entering the United States before turning 25 and without six years of service time, Sasaki falls under the regulations of international free agency. This means his signing bonus is subject to certain limits.

Factors like market size, living conditions, and a tradition of winning are reportedly not the top priorities.

"He doesn't seem to look at it in the typical way that other players do," Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe said. "He has a more long-term, global view of things. I believe Roki is also very interested in the pitching development and how a team is going to help him get better, both in the near future and over the course of his career.

"He didn't seem overly concerned about whether a team had Japanese players on their team or not, which, in the past, when I represented Japanese players, that was sometimes an issue. That was never a topic of discussion."

Over four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Sasaki compiled a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and averaged 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Despite dealing with some injuries last season, he still recorded a 10-5 record and a 2.35 ERA.

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