Japanese superstar pitcher Rōki Sasaki has informed the Texas Rangers that he does not plan to sign with the organization and will pursue a contract with another team.
On Monday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reported that a source close to the situation informed the Rangers that Sasaki “will be signing elsewhere.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Rangers were among a group of teams considered to be the “obvious front-runners” to land Sasaki in his first MLB contract.
Sasaki met with the Rangers in Los Angeles before the holidays and received a presentation from the team about his potential future, though he opted against visiting the club in person when he arrived back in the United States last week, according to MLB.com.
In addition to telling the Rangers about his intent to sign elsewhere, Sasaki also informed the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants that he would not be signing with those clubs.
Sasaki is now going to decide between the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays, per Jeff Passan at ESPN.
This decision is expected to come as early as Wednesday when the 2025 signing period opens, though he could wait as long as January 23 when the period closes, per MLB.com.
Despite missing out on Sasaki, the Rangers will still enter the 2025 season with an improved pitchers’ group.
The Rangers opened the offseason by re-signing Nathan Eovaldi to a three-year contract worth $75 million, followed by a move to acquire left-hand reliever Hoby Milner on a one-year contract worth $2.5 million, as reported by DX.
Texas followed up these contract agreements by completing a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire lefty pitcher Mason Molina in exchange for right-hander Grant Anderson.
These moves may not be the end of the offseason for this Rangers team, as the team will likely look to finish the offseason by solidifying the closer position heading into the season.
Kirby Yates, whom the team lost to free agency this winter, filled that role for the Rangers during the 2024 season and put up an impressive 33 saves and 1.17 earned runs average, resulting in the 37-year-old being selected for his second career All-Star Game.
Rangers assistant general manager Ross Fenstermaker said teams could “never have enough pitching” while also praising the moves made by the club, though his comments also left the door open for another move to finish the offseason.
“But we’re always going to look for ways in which we can upgrade the club further. We’re going to continue to be open-minded and creative, but we feel like we’ve done a lot of heavy lifting so far, and we put this team in a good spot and built all the ‘pen quite well. We’re looking forward to seeing these guys get into 2025,” he said, per MLB.com.