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[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Roki Sasaki on the Move to MLB
The Chiba Lotte Marines have decided to permit pitcher Roki Sasaki to be posted to MLB, freeing him to pursue a deal during an upcoming 45-day window.
After four seasons with NPB's Chiba Lotte Marines, hard-throwing right-hander Roki Sasaki received the green light from the team to pursue a move to Major League Baseball.
The Marines announced on Saturday, November 9 that they will post him, giving MLB's 30 clubs the opportunity during a 45-day window to negotiate a deal with Sasaki.
After the 2023 NPB season, Sasaki asked the Marines to post him but they rejected his request to move to MLB.
For Sasaki, who has a 29-15 career record in 64 games with the Marines, a date has not yet been announced when the posting will be made official, ESPN baseball insider Jeff Pasan reported.
Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, who previously pitched for the Yokohama DeNA BaySars, was posted on November 27, 2023. That began the 45-day negotiating period.
If an NPB player who is posted fails to finalize an MLB contract in that 45-day window, he returns to his Japanese team from the previous season.
Sasaki, who turned 23 on November 3, would be subject to MLB's salary restrictions placed on international players, classified as amateur players until they turn 25. As a result, he would only be able to sign a minor-league contract ― a seven-figure deal.
Similarly, Shohei Ohtani, when he was 23, signed his first contract with the Los Angeles Angels for $2.3 million USD (¥351 million JPY) in December 2017 when he was still labeled as an international amateur. (When Yoshinobu Yamamoto finalized a 12-year, $325 million, or nearly ¥50 billion, deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, he was already 25.)
Roki Sasaki Expresses Gratitude to the Marines
"I really thank the team for allowing me [to play in MLB]," Sasaki said in a statement.
Looking ahead, Sasaki, who pitched a perfect game and struck out 19 batters against the Orix Buffaloes on April 10, 2022, has lofty ambitions for the next phase of his baseball career.
"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," Sasaki added. "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 this time."
In 2024, Sasaki made 18 starts for the Marines and had a 10-5 record with a 2.35 ERA, pitching 111 innings, striking out 129 and walking 32 batters. He allowed 83 hits, including just two home runs. And he was also sidelined with a torn oblique.
He is widely recognized as the best young pitcher in NPB, though he has had injury issues since he made his pro debut in 2021. Sasaki threw a career-high 129⅓ innings while making 20 starts in 2022.
Great Expectations for Roki Sasaki
Marines manager Masato Yoshii recognizes that Sasaki, aka "The Monster of the Reiwa Era," is a generational talent. And that there are great expectations for him in the future in MLB.
Indeed, without Sasaki, there will be a big void in the pitching rotation for Lotte, which finished in third place in the Pacific League with a 71-66-6 record in 2024.
"It is very painful for the team, of course," Yoshii said, according to Kyodo News. "I understand his feelings well, and I understand the desire to tackle this challenge. There are many areas he has yet to master, but he can polish those in America."
Yoshii also recalled, "The first time I saw him pitch in a bullpen, it was the biggest shock I'd had since I first saw Hideo Nomo pitch," Kyodo News reported.
Noah Camras, who writes about baseball for the Dodgers Nation website, described Sasaki as "one of the best pitching prospects ever."
Sasaki's pitching arsenal includes a fastball clocked at 102 mph (164.1 kph), an excellent slider and a deceptive split-finger fastball.
MLB scouts and front-office executives frequently attended Sasaki's games during his four NPB seasons.
In his 394⅔ career innings with the Marines, Sasaki struck out 505 batters and issued 88 walks. He gave up 265 hits.
Looking ahead to MLB's offseason player signings, reporter Tony Paul of The Detroit News described Sasaki this way: "Here's the name to watch from Japan, for teams with money left in their international signing bonus pool."
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BayStars' Miura Wins Shoriki Award
Daisuke Miura, manager of the 2024 Japan Series-winning Yokohama DeNA BayStars, is this year's recipient of the Matsutaro Shoriki Award. The announcement was made on Thursday, November 7.
In his fourth season as the dugout boss of the Central League's BayStars, Miura guided the franchise to its first NPB title since 1998.
The BayStars finished third in the CL during the regular season with a 71-69-3 record. Then they defeated the 2023 Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants in succession in the two stages of the Central League Climax Series.
Under Miura's steady leadership, the BayStars became just the second NPB team to finish third during the regular season and then win the Japan Series. The Chiba Lotte Marines accomplished the feat first in 2010. They won both rounds of the Pacific League Climax Series and then topped the Chunichi Dragons in the Japan Series.
The Shoriki Award is given to an individual who is determined to have made the biggest contributions to Japanese pro baseball in that year, as determined by the selection committee.
Sadaharu Oh was the first recipient of the annual award in 1977.
Now-retired manager Akinobu Okada, who piloted the Tigers to the 2023 Japan Series title, received the award last year.
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Dodgers' Ohtani Undergoes Surgery on Left Shoulder
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, the 2024 World Series championship team announced on Tuesday, November 5.
Dr Neal ElAttrache repaired Ohtani's left labrum in Los Angeles.
The injury, which Ohtani sustained during Game 2 of the World Series on a stolen-base attempt, was originally reported to be a subluxation (partial dislocation).
Ohtani played the final three games of the Fall Classic, serving as the team's leadoff hitter.
In September 2023, Ohtani had surgery on his right elbow and he didn't pitch for the entire 2024 season. He had been preparing to return to the mound at the start of the 2025 season, but his latest injury will likely push the plan.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said the team will not etch in stone a date for Ohtani to begin pitching again.
"We're going to take it piece by piece and get through this and then take it in one-, two-week chunks and make sure that we're in a really good place on each of those benchmarks and then go from there and not try to say, 'Hey, we need to be ready by this day,' " Gomes said, according to The Associated Press.
The GM added, "We're going to let the rehab process play out."
Ohtani's recovery from his latest surgery will be a team effort, according to Gomes.
"The rehab stages have different lower-intensity exercises and may just be movement," Gomes said. "Our trainers and performance coaches and doctors are all in lockstep on that and we'll be with him along the way."
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Soccer
Furuhashi Named to Japan Squad for 1st Time Since October 2023
Veteran striker Kyogo Furuhashi is returning to the Japan national team for its upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Samurai Blue manager Hajime Moriyasu named Furuhashi to the squad for away matches against Indonesia and China in Jakarta and Xiamen, respectively, on November 15 and 19.
Furuhashi, who plies his craft for Celtic FC in the Scottish Premiership, made his last appearance for the national team on October 17, 2023, in a Kirin Challenge Cup match against Tunisia at Saitama Stadium. He scored the opening goal in Japan's 2-0 triumph.
The 29-year-old Furuhashi is one of three Celtic FC players named to the squad, with Reo Hatate and Diazen Maeda also selected by Moriyasu.
In 15 Scottish Premiership matches in the 2024-25 season, Furuhashi has scored six goals.
What are Moriyasu's objectives for Furuhashi in the upcoming matches?
"We want to create a structure where he can get goals first of all," Moriyasu said, according to Agence France-Presse.
He then said, "We also want him to work hard as the first point of defense, as he does for Celtic."
Check out the full roster for Japan's upcoming away matches on the Japan Football Association website.
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Basketball
B.League Statistical Leaders
With 12 games in the books for each of the B.League's 24 first-division teams, here's a quick look at some of the statistical leaders through Wednesday, November 6.
Shiga Lakes power forward Brock Motum leads the B.League in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game. The Australian had a season-high 28 points on October 6 against the Osaka Evessa.
San-en NeoPhoenix playmaker Ryusei Sasaki is No 1 in assists (7.3).
Chiba Jets big man John Mooney stands tall as the top rebounder (13.0 per game).
Three players share the lead in steals (2.2 per match): Ryan Rossiter of the Alvark Tokyo, Maik Kotsar of the Yokohama B-Corsairs and James Michael McAdoo of the Shimane Susanoo Magic.
Nagasaki Velca forward/center AJ Edu is the leading shot blocker, averaging 1.8 per game.
Alvark shooting guard Taiki Osakabe has the best 3-point shooting percentage (55.0%) among B.League players (averaging at least 1.5 attempts per game).
The Ryukyu Golden Kings have the highest-scoring offense (88.4 points per game) among the circuit's 24 teams.
Note: Each team is scheduled to play 60 games.
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Briefly…
Recommended read: Longtime sports journalist and best-selling author Robert Whiting penned this remembrance of Marty Kuehnert, an American-born entrepreneur, restaurateur, journalist, front-office executive in NPB and B.League team adviser in Sendai, on his Substack site. Kuehnert, who lived in Japan for decades, passed away in November at age 78.
The France men's rugby squad trounced Japan 52-12 on Saturday, November 9 at the Stade de France. Entering the second half, the Brave Blossoms trailed 31-0.
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.