After Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, there is a lot of interest in another free agent pitcher from Japan this year.
Rocky Sasaki is a 23-year-old starter who will join the MLB club in 2025, but insider Keith Lowe said there are some concerns about the young star.
“The guy hasn’t talked that much the last two years. He’s basically had half a season the last two years,” Lowe said, via Foul Territory .
.@keithlaw: from the Athletic addresses concerns over Rocky Sasaki’s longevity and workload pic.twitter.com/hrdcBee769
— FoulTerritory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 21, 2024
Lau noted that Sasaki has dealt with shoulder inflammation and an oblique strain the past two seasons.
With those ailments, Sasaki pitched 91.0 innings with a 1.78 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 2023, while he pitched 111.0 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 2024.
Lau notes that Sasaki has an electric arm that any organization would want to build around, but he questions the right-hander’s ability to stay healthy for a full MLB season.
Other notable free agent pitchers include Blake Snell, Corbin Burns and Max Fried.
The Dodgers are the team that seems most likely to sign Sasaki, but there are plenty of other teams interested in him.
Whoever ends up signing Sasaki will be interesting to see how they use him given his injury history and recent workload.
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