Roki Sasaki, the prized Japanese pitching prospect who has had scouts drooling over his potential since high school, has chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his major league team, he announced on Instagram on Friday.

Sasaki called this “a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.”

The Dodgers, long viewed as the favorites for Sasaki, had recently emerged as one of three finalists for the 23-year-old right-hander, along with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres. On Friday morning, the Padres began agreeing to deals with their prospective international signees in the Dominican Republic, a clear sign throughout the industry that they were out on Sasaki. The Blue Jays thusly acquired $2 million in international-bonus-pool space — along with center fielder Myles Straw — from the Cleveland Guardians in hopes of enticing Sasaki further.

It ultimately did not matter. A Dodgers team coming off a World Series title with a roster headlined by Japanese countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto again landed one of the biggest prizes of the offseason.

In the Dodgers, Sasaki joins a team that has built a reputation as one of the best at developing talent and one that expects to field an incredibly deep rotation in 2025. Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return from last year’s group. Ohtani, who will resume his duties as a two-way player, will be added. Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract in November. Clayton Kershaw is expected to return at some point, as well. And younger arms such as Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller remain in the organization, making it easy for the Dodgers to field a six-man rotation that would lessen Sasaki’s acclimation process.

Because he is under 25 years old and spent less than six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki essentially will sign a minor league contract and follow the path of a player selected in the amateur draft — able to be optioned to the minors, scheduled to earn close to the major league minimum during his first three major league seasons and unable to become a traditional free agent until attaining six years of service time.

Teams were limited to giving Sasaki only their international bonus pools, which ranged from about $5.1 million to $7.5 million at the start of the signing period.

Sasaki features a mesmerizing splitter that has been lauded as one of the world’s best secondary pitches and pairs it with a fastball that reaches 100 mph, adding a slider that has also been deemed a plus pitch. In four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki posted a 2.02 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and 524 strikeouts against 91 walks in 414 2/3 innings.

In an April 10, 2022, start against the Orix Buffaloes, Sasaki pitched a perfect game while setting an NPB record with 13 consecutive strikeouts. Seven days later, he took the mound again and fired eight perfect innings before being removed from his outing. The following spring, Sasaki showcased his talents on a global stage, forming a star-studded rotation alongside Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga and Yamamoto for a Japanese team that won the World Baseball Classic.

For years, major league scouts and executives descended upon Japan to catch a glimpse of Sasaki and salivated over the possibility of him someday being posted. When it finally occurred in early December, upwards of 20 teams made initial pitches, doing so with videos and letters and even books. Sasaki flew to the L.A. headquarters of his agency, Wasserman, later that month and conducted meetings with at least eight teams — the Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.

Earlier this week, five of those teams were informed they were out of the running, prompting Sasaki to take follow-up meetings in Toronto, San Diego and L.A. before coming to his decision.

Sasaki needed to select his new team between Jan. 15, the start of this year’s international signing period, and Jan. 23, the expiration of his posting window. His presence in the international amateur market left prospective signees of the three finalists in limbo on deals that are verbally agreed to years in advance, causing particular consternation within the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays needed to not only free up their international bonus pools for the potential of landing Sasaki, but entertain the possibility of trading for additional space in hopes of enticing him further.

Sasaki starred in Summer Koshien, the prominent Japanese high school tournament, and was taken No. 1 overall in the NPB draft in 2019. The Lotte Marines handled him carefully, restricting him to bullpen sessions and simulated games in 2020 and limiting his workload whenever possible thereafter. Sasaki’s numbers were down a bit last year, his ERA rising to 2.35. His four-seam fastball went from averaging roughly 98 mph to 96. At one point, shoulder fatigue cropped up. There are concerns about how Sasaki will handle a major league workload, and many will acknowledge that his command needs improvement.

But few doubt his ceiling.

Within these next handful of years, several prominent evaluators believe, Sasaki could be an annual Cy Young contender.

The New York Mets and left-hander A.J. Minter have agreed on a two-year, $22 million contract Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, giving a team starved for bullpen help one of the best relievers on the free-agent market.

The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an opt-out after the 2025 season. SNY first reported the agreement.

Minter, 31, was a key contributor during the Atlanta Braves’ recent run of success, posting a 3.28 ERA across 384 relief appearances since debuting in 2017. He was a member of the 2021 World Series championship club and enjoyed his best full season the following year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA in 75 games. Hip inflammation limited Minter to 39 appearances in 2024, but he was effective when healthy with a 2.62 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings in a setup role.

He joins a club that prioritized acquiring a top-flight reliever this winter to partner with closer Edwin Diaz late in games. Being a lefty checks another box for New York, which, as it currently stands, has just one other left-handed reliever (Alex Young) on their 40-man roster.

The bullpen addition comes a day after the club reached a one-year deal with veteran outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, who figures to be primarily used as a DH against right-handed pitchers.

Pete Alonso, the Mets’ homegrown star first baseman, remains a free agent. The two sides have attempted to negotiate a reunion, but they’ve recently reached an impasse over money on a three-year contract, according to a source. Without Alonso, the Mets could move third baseman Mark Vientos, a breakout star in 2024, across the diamond to first base with former top prospect Brett Baty, prospect Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna as internal candidates to start at third base.

TORONTO — The Blue Jays acquired $2 million in international signing bonus pool allocation from the Cleveland Guardians that could be used in their pursuit of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki as part of a trade Friday that also brought underperforming outfielder Myles Straw to Toronto.

Cleveland will send $3.75 million to the Blue Jays, offsetting some of the $14.75 million Straw is guaranteed for the final two years of a $25 million, five-year contract. The Guardians will receive a player to be named or cash.

Toronto boosted its international signing pool to $8,261,600 and had not signed any players since the 2025 window opened Wednesday, leaving the entire amount available for Sasaki.

Also being being pursued by the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the 23-year-old right-hander has until Thursday to reach agreement with a Major League Baseball team. He is considered an international amateur by MLB and can sign only a minor league contract subject to the same bonus pools as Latin American prospects.

Straw has salaries of $6 million this year and $7 million in 2026 and is guaranteed a $1.75 million buyout of a 2027 team option. Cleveland will send Toronto $1 million this year, $1 million in 2026 and $1.75 million at the end of 2026.

Cleveland agreed to the long-term deal in April 2022 but Straw hit just .221 with no homers, 32 RBIs and 21 stolen bases that year, then batted .238 with 1 homer, 29 RBIs and 20 steals in 2023.

He was sent outright to Triple-A Columbus in April and hit .240 with 3 homers, 47 RBIs and 30 steals. Cleveland brought him up in September, and he went 1-for-4 over seven games.