Atlanta Braves Not a Finalist in Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes

The remaining finalists have been announced and unsurprisngly, the Braves are no considered to be in the running for the incoming Japanese star pitcher

The Braves are out but that won't be news to most | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The remaining three teams in the running for Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki have been reported. The Atlanta Braves are not one of them.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are the final three teams in the Sasaki sweepstakes. 

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

A final decision will come before the international signing window comes on Jan. 23. The window opens on Wednesday. 

Not seeing the Braves as a finalist isn’t too much of a surprise. They have never had any real connection to the 23-year-old starter from the beginning. Either way, the wait for a major addition by the Braves this offseason continues. 

In his four seasons with the NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA, an insane 0.894 WHIP and 505 strikeouts over 394 2/3. 

Since he is an international prospect, as opposed to a free agent like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he can only be signed with international prospect pool money and will be subjected to the same six years of control as other prospects. 

In this scenario, it would have made sense from a monetary perspective for the Braves to make a push. A potential reason could be that they have so many right-handed pitching prospects already. 

They could also have their sites on another need. 

A report from mid-December indicated that the Braves are expected to sign highly touted international outfielder prospect Diego Tornes when the signing period opens on Jan. 15. 

According to baseball writer Francys Romero, the Braves are expected to sign him for around $3 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid international prospects. Hard to make room for Sasaki in that case. 

The Braves lack outfielder depth in their system. So, while he is not an immediate solution, he provides more depth for the future.