Dodgers' Potential Free Agent Target Dealing With Another Injury

Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki's immediate future in Major League Baseball could be in jeopardy after suffering an injury to his pitching arm this week, the Lotte Marines announced Thursday.

The 22-year-old has been deactivated from the roster for the second time this season. He was dropped after he failed to recover from upper body fatigue following his May 24 start against SoftBank, per Jim Allen.

Per Hochi Sports, Sasaki has struggled to stay healthy this season and is also dealing with a lower-body issue. The team released the following statement in Japanese:

"The conditioning of his right upper leg was poor. It was a comprehensive decision made after his conditioning check after his appearance revealed that his upper leg was not in perfect condition."

Sasaki has been vocal about becoming an MLB pitcher, following in the footsteps of Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga.

Unlike these two rookies, Sasaki is younger than 25, which means he is ineligible to sign a massive contract if he's posted after the 2024 season. He would be limited by the bonus limits for international amateur players of his signing team, and be confined to the typical rookie pay scale with six years' service time required to attain free agent status.

Shohei Ohtani's initial deal with the Los Angeles Angels paid a $2.315 million signing bonus in 2017, the highest figure the Angels could offer.

Early predictions had Sasaki posting this winter with the Dodgers expecting to sign him. All of that could be in trouble if teams are scared off by his medicals. Sasaki has an ERA of 1.96 on the year, but could be out of the running for major NPB awards due to his lack of availability this season.