It took a while for the news to become official, but MLB's offseason market has a fresh option in the form of a 23-year-old ace pitcher.

His name is Roki Sasaki, and he could change everything for whichever team signs him.

There had been a "Will They or Won't They" thing going on with whether the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan would post the right-hander during MLB's 2024-25 offseason. That ended in November when the team announced its intention to do so, and Sasaki's 45-day bidding window opened on Tuesday.

Because he is not yet 25, Sasaki is an amateur free agent and can only sign a minor league deal subject to MLB's international bonus pool restrictions.

The 2024 signing period ends on December 15. The 2025 period will begin on January 15, and it is in this one that Sasaki is expected to sign.

Let's dive deeper into Sasaki's profile and priorities, and then get to speculating on which teams have the best chance of bringing him into the fold.

Who Is Roki Sasaki and What Is His Value?

Whatever you do, don't question whether Sasaki has the talent to thrive in MLB.

He was nothing short of dominant in four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. In 414.2 innings, he struck out 524, walked 91 and accumulated a 2.02 ERA. He also fanned 11 of the 33 batters he faced in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The 6'2", 187-pounder can run his fastball up to and over 100 mph, though his best pitch is a splitter that tops 90 mph and falls off the table. He also has a slider that he primarily uses against right-handed batters.

"If he was someone in the amateur draft, he'd easily be a top-five draft pick, probably better," said one MLB executive, according to Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

If there is a question about Sasaki's MLB outlook, it concerns his durability. He topped out at 129.1 innings for the Marines, and Sammon reported that shoulder fatigue caused the righty to miss time this past season.

Even still, MLB teams would likely be willing to make nine-figure bets on Sasaki if he was a regular free agent. Since he's merely an amateur, signing him now will cost significantly less.

The situation is similar to when Shohei Ohtani came to MLB in 2017 for a mere $2.3 million bonus. The Los Angeles Angels had that left in their pool, though they also had to pay a $20 million posting fee to the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

This time, whichever team signs Sasaki must only pay 20 percent of the contract value. Teams' bonus pools for 2025 range from $4.1 million to $7.6 million.

More than money, the Sasaki sweepstakes will come down to how MLB teams pitch him on joining their franchise.

How Will Sasaki Choose His MLB Home?

Because MLB teams can only offer Sasaki so much money, there is the question of what other factors will guide his decision.

His agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, offered some clues at the winter meetings.

On the matter of geography, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported in November that West Coast teams were believed to have the best shot at Sasaki. Wolfe pushed back on this, and also opened the door to both big- and small-market clubs.

As relayed by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:

AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reported on other nuggets dropped by Wolfe, including that Sasaki will ask questions "about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development."

Endorsements are another consideration, according to Jim Bowden of CBS Sports. As Sasaki won't be arbitration-eligible until his fourth season in the majors, endorsements are how he can inflate his earnings in the meantime.

Further, it doesn't sound as if a winning track record will hurt teams' causes.

"The best I can say is he has paid attention to how teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in years past," Wolfe said, per Cassavell.

With all this in mind, let's rank Sasaki's top 10 potential suitors.

Farm system rankings are by B/R's Joel Reuter. Projected 2025 starting rotations are courtesy of RosterResource at FanGraphs.

10-6: Rays, Red Sox, Phillies, Rangers, Giants

10. Tampa Bay Rays

2024 Record: 80-82, 4th in AL East

Projected 2025 Rotation: Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Jeffrey Springs, Shane Baz

2025 Bonus Pool: $7,555,500

Bowden has tabbed the Rays as a team "in the mix" for Sasaki. It helps that their bonus pool is as big as they come, and it's possible he'll be attracted to their pitching track record. They're a regular in the top three of the American League for ERA.

Yet even if Sasaki is indeed amenable to the East Coast, the Rays don't offer much in the way of glamour. They're due for a new stadium as soon as 2028, but they'll be stuck at Steinbrenner Field and (maybe) Tropicana Field between now and then.

9. Boston Red Sox

2024 Record: 81-81, 3rd in AL East

Projected 2025 Rotation: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Richard Fitts

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

Even after pulling off a blockbuster trade for Crochet at the winter meetings, the Red Sox are still seeking starting pitching. Sasaki is perfect for them, and he could possibly be sold on the pitching infrastructure that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has built.

The Red Sox have reportedly scouted Sasaki, so there isn't a question of whether they are interested. Yet even if he does prove willing to sign with an East Coast team, there is the question of whether he prefers to pitch for a more established contender.

8. Philadelphia Phillies

2024 Record: 95-67, 1st in NL East

Projected 2025 Rotation: Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

Following their aggressive pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto last winter, the Phillies are another team on Bowden's list of clubs in the mix for Sasaki. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has even come right out as said he's "very interested" in the righty.

The Phillies can hope to sell Sasaki on their recent track record, but it could complicate things that even they know said track record isn't as good as it should be. This is a transitionary sort of offseason that could involve additions and subtractions.

7. Texas Rangers

2024 Record: 78-84, 3rd in AL West

Projected 2025 Rotation: Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Cody Bradford

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

There has been plenty written about how Sasaki is close with Yu Darvish, who got his start in MLB with the Rangers. The club is known to have scouted Sasaki in Japan, and ESPN's Jeff Passan says they're expected to be "significant players" in his sweepstakes.

Yet whereas the Rangers were World Series champs a year ago, right now they're a team coming off a losing season. They're also an older team, and especially on the pitching side. Eovaldi, deGrom and Gray are all in their mid-30s.

6. San Francisco Giants

2024 Record: 80-82, 4th in NL West

Projected 2025 Rotation: Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Landen Roupp

2025 Bonus Pool: $5,146,200

Finally, a West Coast team. And according to Passan, the Giants are another club among the "significant players" for Sasaki. It may not hurt their cause that they have the entire Bay Area market to themselves, as the Athletics are all the way up in Sacramento.

Unfortunately, the Giants' 2025 bonus pool is the smallest out of all 30 teams. And with their farm system ranked by Reuter as the worst in MLB, it could be tough to sell Sasaki on the club's ability to break free from a string of mediocre seasons.

5. New York Yankees

2024 Record: 94-68, 1st in AL East

Projected 2025 Rotation: Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil

2025 Bonus Pool: $5,261,600

The Yankees had a chance to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto last winter, but they missed out because they didn't think he deserved as much money as Cole.

If ever there was a time to atone for that "oops," it's after the gut punch that was Juan Soto leaving for the Mets.

The Yankees have already taken big steps in the right direction by signing Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract and trading for ace closer Devin Williams. Yet they're still keen on making their pitch to Sasaki, as GM Brian Cashman spoke about on Wednesday:

Starting pitching is already a strength for the Yankees, but the organization should treat overkill as underrated. It was a huge win that they got to the World Series for the first time in 15 years, but a huge loss that they won only one game in losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Yankees can attempt to sell Sasaki on the chance to be the guy who takes the team back over the top. With help, of course, from Cole, Fried, Aaron Judge and up-and-comers like Anthony Volpe and top prospect Jasson Domínguez.

But even if they can sell him on the East Coast and baseball's biggest market, can the Yankees convince Sasaki that their long-term future is bright?

Cole (34), Fried (30) and Judge (32) are past 30, after all, and the club's farm system is the worst in the American League. And at this point, you have to wonder how many lives Cashman and manager Aaron Boone have left.

4. Chicago Cubs

2024 Record: 83-79, T-2nd in NL Central

Projected 2025 Rotation: Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Javier Assad

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

The Cubs have already made it clear that they mean business this winter.

They made a huge trade on Friday, bringing in three-time All-Star Kyle Tucker to be the lineup rock that they've been lacking in recent seasons. Now the question is whether they can add an ace to match in Sasaki.

The Cubs have "heavily scouted" Sasaki, according to Sammon and Mooney. And while he and Shota Imanaga aren't necessarily close, the lefty is an admirer of his fellow countryman.

"He's an amazing player," Imanaga said of Sasaki in September, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. "He has potential and skills that people will be envious of. Some stuff you're just born with. He has some of that along with the work ethic and everything. He's a great player."

Like the Yankees, the Cubs can point to their starting pitching as a relative strength. Yet the idea in adding Sasaki would be to correct a more specific issue, as only two starting staffs allowed a higher contact rate than the Cubs' in 2024.

The Cubs otherwise have the advantage of a strong base of young talent that only stands to get stronger. Even after the graduation of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Reuter ranks the club's farm system as the fourth-best in MLB.

What the Cubs are not, of course, is a firmly established contender. If that really matters to him, he can do better.

3. New York Mets

2024 Record: 89-73, T-2nd in NL East

Projected 2025 Rotation: Kodai Senga, Frankie Montas, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

In addition to yet another team with a Japanese ace already in place, the Mets are another known to be interested in Sasaki.

They're another "significant player" in his sweepstakes, according to Passan. This was apparent even before the news of Sasaki's posting broke, as Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns traveled to Japan in September to watch Sasaki pitch.

If Sasaki desires the biggest platform possible, the Mets are one of just two teams that can offer him a chance to pitch in baseball's largest market. And right now, they can make a more compelling case than the other one.

Whereas the Yankees are an older team with an uncertain future, the Mets are a team on the rise. They just came within two wins of making it to the World Series, and now they have a $1.1 billion star duo in Soto and Francisco Lindor. They may also have an ace in the hole in pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.

"I know that the Wasserman Group, who are representing him, are very high on Jeremy Hefner, and that does have some influence here," Bowden said.

There's a realistic scenario in which the Mets become the Dodgers of the East Coast. And if so, the franchise's 38-year championship drought is likely on borrowed time.

Yet if Sasaki does secretly prefer the West Coast, there are two super-contenders in Southern California that would be all too glad to have him.

2. San Diego Padres

2024 Record: 93-69, 2nd in NL West

Projected 2025 Rotation: Dylan Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, Randy Vásquez, Matt Waldron

2025 Bonus Pool: $6,261,600

The Padres have made the playoffs in three of the last five seasons, and they brought such a dangerous team to the 2024 postseason that they put even the Dodgers on notice.

Cut to now, and whether the Padres want Sasaki is unambiguous. They absolutely do, and manager Mike Shildt likes their chances of getting him:

In breaking down where the Padres stood on the righty in November, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that the team has scouted Sasaki "extensively." And it isn't just a friendship that Sasaki shares with Darvish. Both are represented by Wolfe.

San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was with the Rangers when they originally signed Darvish in 2012, and nobody can doubt his commitment to the bit when it comes to courting Japanese stars. He reportedly learned some Japanese to speak with Shohei Ohtani directly in 2017.

As for what the Padres have working against them, you can start with their ongoing little-brother relationship with the Dodgers and continue with the state of their talent pipeline.

It's not so good, with Reuter ranking San Diego's farm system at No. 28 in MLB. It's a less-than-ideal spot considering how so many of the club's core stars (i.e., Darvish, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts) are in their 30s.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2024 Record: 98-64, 1st in NL West

Projected 2025 Rotation: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Shohei Ohtani

2025 Bonus Pool: $5,146,200

Let's just say it would be a surprise if anyone beats the Dodgers to Sasaki.

There were rumors of a handshake deal between the two sides in November, but Wolfe dismissed those as an insult to his integrity and "poor sportsmanship."

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, however, there is "widespread industry belief" has already picked a team and that it is "most likely" the Dodgers.

If this is the case, it isn't because the Dodgers can offer Sasaki the most money. Their 2025 bonus pool is the second-smallest among all teams. It would therefore be for other reasons if the Dodgers are able to get their man.

Well, they certainly have timing on their side. They just won the World Series, effectively putting an exclamation mark on a 12-year run as the winningest team in MLB.

The Dodgers also have sheer cultural cachet, particularly in Japan. To this end, their $1 billion worth of investments in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are already paying off.

The Dodgers have been maintaining a strong talent pipeline for a while now, and it's not currently in imminent danger of getting weaker. Reuter has their farm system ranked as one of the 10 best in MLB.

Nothing is a fait accompli, of course. But from the looks of things, the stars sure seem aligned for Sasaki to end up in Dodger Blue.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.