The MLB sweepstakes for the next Japanese sensation

[True Dough]

C'mon, let a small-market team get in on the action for a change! Maybe because he has to start off in the minor leagues due to his age it might make a difference? I'm probably dreaming.

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced Saturday that they will begin the process of posting Roki Sasaki, the Japanese right-hander considered one of the most talented pitchers in the world, paving the way for the 23-year-old to join Major League Baseball in 2025.

The posting system is the method of transfer between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball that makes him available to all 30 teams.

"I am very grateful to the team for officially allowing me to post," Sasaki said in a statement posted by the Marines on X. "There were many things that did not go well during my five years with the Marines, but I was able to get to this point by concentrating only on baseball, with the support of my teammates, staff, front office, and fans. I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world, so that I will have no regrets in my one and only baseball career and live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me."

Sasaki, nicknamed "The Monster of the Reiwa Era," throws a fastball that regularly reaches triple digits and complements it with a frontline split-fingered fastball and a slider.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42280725/chiba-lotte-marines-post-japanese-star-roki-sasaki-mlb

[gab13by13]

1. I hope his papers are in order.

or he may be whisked off to an internment camp.

[Brother Buzz]

2. Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Lefty O'Doul, is smiling somewhere

His vision came to fruition

[Homoudont]

3. Japanese players

Japanese players typically sign with the same teams and will do so for less money. Teams like the mariners and dodgers have a system in place so the players can adapt quicker to major league baseball.