LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed international free agent right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Sasaki, 23, joins the Dodgers after four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Mariners of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league. In 2024, he posted a 10-5 record with a 2.35 ERA over 111 innings, striking out 129 batters and walking 32, with a WHIP of 1.036.
The two-time NPB All-Star (2022, 2023) had his standout season in 2022, achieving a 9-4 record with a 2.02 ERA and two complete games. Sasaki made history on April 10, 2022, by pitching a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes, becoming the 16th pitcher in NPB history to achieve this feat and the first since Hiromi Makihara in 1994. He struck out 19 batters, including 13 consecutive strikeouts, setting a new record. Sasaki followed up with another record by retiring 52 straight batters, spanning eight perfect innings in his next start on April 17 against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He concluded April 2022 with 17 perfect innings and 33 strikeouts, setting career highs in innings pitched (129.1), strikeouts (173), and walks per nine innings (1.6).
Overall, Sasaki recorded a 30-15 record with a 2.02 ERA over four seasons with the Mariners, striking out 524 batters in 414.2 innings with three complete games, and a WHIP of 0.883 over 69 games.
Internationally, Sasaki made his debut for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, contributing to the team’s Gold Medal finish. He made two starts, going 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings, helping Japan defeat the United States in the final at loanDepot Park.
Sasaki becomes the 13th Japanese-born player to wear a Dodger uniform, joining notable players such as Dave Roberts, Hideo Nomo, and Kenta Maeda, among others. This marks the second consecutive season the Dodgers will have two or more Japanese-born players and the first time in franchise history with three on the same squad, including teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
