In his latest start, 22-year-old Japanese ace Roki Sasaki was scouted by both the Mets and Yankees, according to sources in Japan. The Dodgers and Cardinals were also present at the game. However, it remains uncertain when Sasaki will be posted for MLB teams. He had requested his team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, to post him last offseason, but the request was denied. If Sasaki is posted before his 25th birthday, he will only be able to sign a minor league deal due to MLB rules.
This rule is in place to prevent players under 25 with fewer than six professional seasons from signing more lucrative contracts. For example, when Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017 at age 23, he received only $2.315 million due to this rule. Sasaki has been dominant in his first three professional seasons with the Marines, boasting a 1.90 ERA and 0.82 WHIP while striking out 395 batters in 303.2 innings over 51 games.
His strikeout rate has steadily increased over the years, reaching an impressive level of 13.4 per nine innings in his most recent season. In comparison, Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not have as impressive of a performance in his first three professional seasons in Japan, particularly in terms of strikeouts per nine innings
