Among others, the rotation is going to be a focus of Atlanta’s offseason. Alex Anthopoulos might have to replace the innings of Charlie Morton and Max Fried, while Spencer Strider is expected to miss some of the 2025 season. The Braves are going to be in the market for a starter or two.
Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was posted from Nippon Professional Baseball. This year’s most sought-after star Japanese arm is Roki Sasaki, and the Braves should be considered suitors.
The Dodgers were interested in Yamamoto last offseason, and at that point, the Braves never really stood a chance. The Japanese star inked a massive 12-year, $325 million contract to join fellow countryman Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles.
So why would Alex Anthopoulos, who never pays sticker price for anything, be interested in another star free agent? Well, that’s because Roki Sasaki’s situation is much different.
Yamamoto was posted, in a process in which his NPB club received a release fee from the Dodgers. LA paid the Orix Buffaloes about $50 million. Sasaki is leaving before the age of 25, so he’s considered an international amateur free agent and permitted only to sign a minor-league deal with a bonus paid from the team’s international bonus pool.
When Ohtani signed with the Angels, he signed for around $2.3 million, and they got three years of minimum salary and three years of arbitration. Ohtani only signed with the Dodgers after those six years of control, which means Sasaki’s free agency won’t be until the 2030-31 offseason when he’s 29 years old.
Essentially, clubs will compete for Sasaki’s services with everything other than their checkbook size. So, the Braves will have to compete with every other team based on their ability to recruit him.
League sources told The Athletic’s Will Sammon that Sasaki’s priorities are “stability, lifestyle, comfort and a team’s track record with player development.” Sammon also named several candidates for Sasaki’s services — the Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies, and Cubs.
The Braves are an organization that is as well run as any in baseball. Unless there’s a fundamental issue with Atlanta, they should be seen as a potential landing spot for Roki Sasaki, who owns a 2.10 ERA and 0.89 WHIP across four NPB seasons.
His repertoire features a 100 mph fastball and a devastating splitter, profiling as a top of the rotation starter. “He reminds me of Jacob deGrom,” one industry source told Sammon. “He’d develop into a No. 1.”
If there’s a chance he could choose Atlanta, the Braves will absolutely throw their hat into the ring.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
