Manfred expects Sasaki to sign in January as part of 2025 class

Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki now has a timeline for his move across the Pacific.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday that Sasaki is expected to sign as part of the 2025 international signing class, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. That means Sasaki won't sign with an MLB team before Jan. 15, 2025.

Sasaki's Japanese club, the Chiba Lotte Marines, previously announced plans to post the 23-year-old pitcher for MLB clubs this winter. However, because he's being posted before turning 25, Sasaki is only eligible to sign a minor-league contract with a signing bonus that will come out of teams' international bonus money allocations. Usually, such money would be reserved for amateur prospects who are around 16 years old, primarily in Latin America.

International bonus pools will reset for 2025 on Dec. 15, when last year's period officially ends. Players in next year's class can't sign between Dec. 15, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025.

Although he's leaving a significant amount of money on the table by jumping to the majors now, waiting until January works to the benefit of both Sasaki and the Marines. Sasaki can potentially get a team's full bonus pool as part of his contract, while the Marines will earn a larger posting fee (a percentage of his contract) from his new team once he signs the deal.

Once Sasaki is officially posted, he'll have a 45-day window to negotiate with all 30 MLB teams and sign a contract. If for some reason he doesn't sign within 45 days, his rights would revert to the Marines. The actual date that he'll be posted is at the discretion of Chiba Lotte.

Eight teams can offer Sasaki the full bonus pool allotment of $7,555,500 next year. Teams can also grow or shrink their pools by including international bonus money in trades.