Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki was officially released to major league clubs Monday morning, meaning he is now free to sign with any team.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the presumptive favorites, with the San Diego Padres also in the mix, but an official signing is likely still more than a month away.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi has more on Sasaki’s post and its timeline:

With Sasaki’s assignment window opening today, all signs point to him signing with an @MLB team between January 15th and 23rd.

The new @MLB international signing period (for all players) begins on January 15 and Sasaki’s posting window ends on January 23.

@MLBNetwork

Until the international signing period resets, each team would have more bonus money to allocate to Sasaki. Because he is under 25, his income is limited to money from international signings.

Armed with a 100-second fastball and a devastating splitter, Sasaki is the most intriguing free agent in this class not named Juan Soto. If he were to sign with the Dodgers, he would join a rotation with Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and several other players returning from injury like Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May.

If he signed with the Padres, he would join Dylan Cease and Michael King at the top of the rotation. San Diego will miss Joe Musgrove for the entire 2026 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery during the playoffs. The Padres were eliminated by the Dodgers in the National League wild card round and finished second in the National League West.

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