Roki Sasaki Will Have Zero Restrictions in First Season With Dodgers

Gabe Smallson | Feb 11, 2025

Jan 22, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) is photographed by media during an introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the offseason in so many different ways.

They have won by improving starting pitching, relief pitching, hitting, and even ensuring that core pieces to the franchise are inked for 2025 and beyond in some cases.

They also won the sweepstakes on a pitcher that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman thinks can be the best in the world one day.

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A 23-year-old pitcher coming out of Nippon Professional Baseball with as much talent as he had expectations for himself was posted to make his way to North America's premier baseball league.

In a tantalizing race that started with 20 interested MLB teams, was narrowed to eight team meetings, and eventually turned to a three-legged Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays in-person meeting phase, the Dodgers landed international phenom Roki Sasaki.

It was unlike any other free agency race mostly due to his age and contractual restrictions. Since Sasaki was under 25 and had less than six years of service time, he was limited to each team's international bonus pool, unlike Japan National Team teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto who earned a $325 million contract with the Dodgers before the start of the 2024 season.

Sasaki now has a promising update from ESPN's baseball insider Alden Gonzalez as fans anticipate his first MLB pitch.

"Though they'll monitor him closely, the Los Angeles Dodgers won't place any restrictions on Sasaki in his first season in the U.S. I want to see how one of the most lauded pitching development programs goes about extracting the greatness Sasaki clearly possesses. And I want to see how major league hitters react to his absurd splitter."

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Part of the reason Sasaki chose L.A., his agent discussed during the process, was pitching development.

“Roki is by no means a finished product. He knows it and the teams know it. He is incredibly talented. We all know that,” Wolfe said. “But he is a guy that wants to be great. He’s not coming here to be rich or to get a huge contract. He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest ever. I see that now and he has articulated it."

It appears that the Dodgers will not restrict Sasaki at all on his path to greatness as the right-hander, the team president, and fans alike all believe he will be one day. Since the Dodgers have so many capable starting pitchers, they won't rely on Sasaki to throw upwards of 150 innings and pitch every fifth day. At the same time, though, they won't restrict him from going through a full major league season.

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