Pitcher Roki Sasaki agreed to terms on his contract for the 2024 season, the Lotte Marines announced Friday, just six days before the team is set to hold its first spring training workout.
The 22-year-old, the youngest pitcher to throw a perfect game in Japan, had been the subject of several media reports claiming he had demanded Lotte allow him to sign with a Major League Baseball team before the Marines could earn a substantial posting fee.
Amid those reports, Marines team president Shunsuke Kosaka declined to comment on Sasaki's situation other than to say, "The team wants to support those players who have already contributed in their efforts to move to the majors."
Although Sasaki has pitched some phenomenal games, attracting worldwide attention with his velocity and his ability to strike out batters, he has yet to develop the physical ability to pitch for an entire season.
Last year, when it appeared Sasaki might clear the 143 innings needed to qualify for an ERA title, he was sidelined by an oblique muscle injury in July that restricted him to just 15 total games and 91 innings.
Sasaki turned pro with the Marines as their first draft pick in 2019 after Lotte won his negotiating rights in a four-way lottery.
He did not pitch in a single game in 2020, but by 2022 had blossomed into a world-class talent and pitched for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
If Sasaki moves to MLB via the posting system after he is 25 with six years as a pro, there will be no limits on the size of the contract an MLB team might offer him, and Lotte would stand to earn a windfall likely worth tens of millions of dollars.
Prior to that, MLB rules would treat Sasaki as an amateur, with severe restrictions placed on contracts and signing bonuses. That would limit Lotte's posting transfer fee to a tiny fraction of what the team might get after he is 25.
The Marines said a press conference would be held in the coming days.
