Why Red Sox Should Make Roki Sasaki Top Free-Agent Priority

The Boston Red Sox are in the market for a front-line starter, and an intriguing name should be on their radar.

Roki Sasaki will arrive in MLB and play in the 2025 season after the Chiba Lotte Marines announced they would post their star ace pitcher. Sasaki, nicknamed “The Monster of the Reiwa Era,” arguably is one of the best pitchers in the world and will be atop of many free agent lists behind Juan Soto.

The 23-year-old made waves in high school when he threw for a Japanese record 101 mph. Then in 2022, he tossed a 19-strikeout perfect game. He’s a two-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and has an impressive pitch arsenal outside of his fastball that reaches triple digits.

Boston has been linked to multiple high-end starters like Garrett Crochet, and Sasaki also should be part of that list. The right-hander would be the perfect ace to build around, and he fits in the same timeline as the “Big Four,” so you’re building for the now and the future.

Since Sasaki was posted before he turned 25 years old, he’s limited to a minor league deal with a signing bonus coming from a team’s remaining international bonus pool (capped at just over $7.5 million) — similar to Shohei Ohtani’s first deal with the Los Angeles Angels. If he waited, he could have signed a 12-year, $325 million deal like Yoshinobu Yamamoto did with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.

According to Chris Hatfield of Sox Prospects, The Red Sox have a little over $1 million in their bonus pool. However, if Sasaki is posted after Dec. 1 and he signs in the 2025 period, there’s more money available.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the favorite to sign Sasaki. He’d play on the West Coast and join Ohtani and Yamamoto. Money won’t be the biggest issue since each club is dealing with the same pool. While Boston pitches free agents and works on trades, it should also be doing whatever it can to convince Sasaki to sign.

The Red Sox also can trade for other teams’ pool bonus space, and it might be worth the investment. Kodai Senga and Yamamoto have translated well from NPB to MLB, and Sasaki is seen as even better than them.

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As a bonus, a team that signs Sasaki also would get a first-round pick if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three of Cy Young voting. That’s because he doesn’t qualify as a “foreign professional” by MLB’s definitions, so he’s eligible for Prospect Performance Incentive draft picks. If Sasaki’s legit, he could have a Paul Skenes-esque season and win Rookie of the Year like the Pittsburgh Pirates phenom is expected to.

There’s no guarantee the Red Sox will be on Sasaki’s shortlist, but it’s worth the effort to try to secure a true ace at such a low cost.