Report: Phillies interested in Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan are set to begin the process of posting right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki, meaning he’ll likely be coming to Major League Baseball next year.

Sasaki, 23, has a career 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts across 394 2/3 innings in NPB over four seasons. This past season, the right-hander pitched 111 innings to the tune of a 2.35 ERA. He struck out 129 batters.

Sasaki’s fastball can sit 100 mph. He also throws a splitter, considered to be his best offering.

There was speculation heading into the offseason about whether or not the Marines would post Sasaki this winter. Because of his age and lesser experience in NPB, he isn’t a professional free agent. Instead, Sasaki is an international amateur free agent, meaning he is only eligible to sign a minor-league contract, capping how much he can sign for. As a result, the Marines won’t make much money off the posting fee they’ll receive if Sasaki signs with an MLB team. The timing of his official posting is still up in the air, per Passan.

Sasaki is expected to have many suitors once he’s officially posted. The Phillies might be one of them. According to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, they scouted the 23-year-old this year.

The Phillies have never signed a player directly coming out of Japan. They were involved in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes last offseason, but the right-hander landed with the Dodgers, signing the largest contract ever given to a pitcher ($325 million).

Money will only take a team so far in the Sasaki sweepstakes. With his potential contract having a cap, comfortably and preference will likely have more of an impact on his decision. All 30 teams could certainly have contact with Sasaki and his representatives once he’s eligible to begin talking to major-league clubs.

The Phillies don’t have a glaring need in their rotation for 2025. But Dave Dombrowski has mentioned the idea of signing a fifth starter this winter. The club is expecting top prospect Andrew Painter to pitch in the majors at some point next year. However, he’s not ready for a full season’s workload; he’s coming off Tommy John surgery. The fifth spot in the rotation is open right now. There will be a competition for that spot come spring training.

Signing Sasaki wouldn’t just be for 2025, though. It would be for the now and later. Ranger Suárez is slated to be a free agent after 2025. Taijaun Walker’s future in the organization isn’t set in stone. The veteran has two years left on his contract. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola aren’t getting any younger. Sasaki, who has never thrown more than 130 innings in a season, could be a fit for both the short and long-term in Philadelphia. At just 23, there’s still room to grow for the Japanese star.

The market for Sasaki will be large. It seems like the Phillies will, at the very least, check in with the right-hander. The organization has had more of a presence in Japan since Dombrowski took over as president of baseball operations. They’d like to eventually sign someone from that part of the world. Sasaki would certainly be a big get.