Getz Confirms White Sox Presentation for Japanese Ace Roki Sasaki

The White Sox got a big box checked off their offseason to-do list after trading Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox. But Chris Getz has indicated while his resources may be limited his work is not done. Multiple reports have indicated that the White Sox are making a pitch to Roki Sasaki. 

Sasaki is the latest Japanese star to test his luck in the MLB, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kodai Senga, and Shohei Ohtani. The 23-year-old pitcher owns a career 2.02 ERA in 69 games with the Chiba Lotte Marines and quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in Japan. In 2022 he tossed a perfect game then proceeded to extend his streak to 17 perfect innings before allowing a baserunner. In 2023 he posted a 1.78 ERA and averaged 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. 

“We are putting together a presentation for Sasaki. He’s obviously a very sought-after pitcher,” Getz told reporters. “We’re going to get a crack at it and see if we can convert.” 

The White Sox have an uphill battle to sign Sasaki. But they have nothing to lose by making the effort. Unfortunately they likely also won’t be able to outbid other teams given that Getz has previously stated the club would not be spending heavily in free agency and Sasaki is not going to take any discounts to join a 121-loss team. 

In order to sign Sasaki the White Sox would need to pay a release fee. For contracts of $25 million or less the release fee is  20 percent of whatever the total guaranteed money is in the contract Saski signs. For MLB deals with guaranteed money between $25-$50 million, the release fee is 20 percent of the first $25 million plus 17.5 percent of the total guaranteed value exceeding $25 million. Any contract exceeding $50 million requires a release fee of 20 percent of the first $25 million, 17.5 percent of the next $25 million, and 15 percent of the total guaranteed money exceeding $50 million.

Sasaki must wait until after January 15 to get a maximum bonus as part of the 2025 international signing class, but will only have until January 23 to pick a team based on his 45-day posting window.