Texas Rangers Seen As 'Obvious Front-Runners' for Japanese Pitching Star

The Texas Rangers have a fully-stocked cupboard of starting pitchers.

But what’s the saying? One can never have enough starting pitching?

The Rangers may be taking that approach when it comes to their pursuit of Japanese star Roki

Sasaki.

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Rangers are seen as one of the “obvious front-

runners” for the right-hander, who can sign a contract as early as Jan. 15 through the posting

process for Japanese baseball players.

Multiple reports deem it unlikely Sasaki will sign immediately.

Rosenthal said that every team was interested in him, but approximately 10 were waved off.

Twenty teams contacted Sasaki and his agent, Joel Wolfe, and provided materials around what

they could offer, including Powerpoint decks and videos. From there, Wolfe had several teams

come to his offices in Los Angeles for an initial round of interviews with Sasaki before the 23-

year-old headed back to Japan for the holidays.

“There is incredible interest in this player and for good reason,” Rosenthal said during an

appearance on "Foul Territory."

🎙️ @Ken_Rosenthal with the latest on Roki Sasaki:

"The Dodgers, the Mets, the Yankees, the Padres, the Rangers... those are the obvious front-runners." pic.twitter.com/nDgnBZWYlt
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 3, 2025

The Rangers are among at least five teams seen as front-runners, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres.

This is not a situation where the Rangers can necessarily be out-bid.

Sasaki’s posting will be much different than that of Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu

Yamamoto’s because Sakaki is only 23.

Due to his age (under 25) and his limited professional experience (less than six years), he’s subject to international signing bonus rules.

That means he’ll only receive up to $7.5 million in international bonus money.

Since he’s seen as a pitcher who is Major League ready, he would also make the MLB minimum for a first-year player, should he make the team.

That is part of what intrigues teams like the Rangers.

Sasaki has cost control and whatever team he signs with will have control of his rights. Plus, he has a 100-mph fastball and an array of pitches.

Last year he went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 32 walks in 111 innings. For his

four-year career he is 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts against 88 walks in 394.2

innings.

Texas can pull from a group of starting pitchers that include Dane Dunning, Nathan Eovaldi,

Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Jack Leiter, Cody Bradford, Tyler Mahle and Kumar Rocker if they

are unable to sign him.

But, Texas has a history of landing Japanese free agents, most notably pitcher Yu Darvish.