Roki Sasaki chooses the Dodgers after being posted by Chiba Lotte

On January 17, 2025, Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki announced that he would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 23-year-old right-hander had been made available to Major League Baseball clubs through the posting system by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Sasaki was one of the most closely watched players in Japan. He was known for a fastball reaching about 100 mph (160 km/h) and for throwing a perfect game in 2022 in Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's top league. Because he was under 25, international signing rules limited him to a minor-league contract with a modest bonus, so he was open to choosing a club on factors beyond money. Reports named the Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres as finalists.

The decision mattered because it added another top Japanese talent to a Dodgers roster that already included Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It also showed the club's strong pull on players from Japan, which shaped later interest in other prospects from the country.