Roki Sasaki, a premier pitcher in Japan and the No. 3 ranked player in The Athletic’s top 40 MLB free agent big board, is on the precipice of making his long-anticipated jump to Major League Baseball.

The Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s club in Nippon Professional Baseball, announced early Saturday morning that they will post the 23-year-old right-hander, thus making him available to MLB teams in what is expected to be a wide-open sweepstakes for his services.

Because of his age, Sasaki will be considered an international amateur in MLB’s system, meaning that he would make the minimum salary and his bonus will be capped. Every MLB team is assigned a dollar amount to spend on international amateurs and cannot exceed it, although they can trade for some additional space. Teams on the low end are allotted $5.1 million for 2025 and $7.6 million on the high end. Therefore, both Sasaki’s salary and the 20 percent fee that will be paid to the Lotte Marines will be relatively small figures.

It’s a situation similar to the one faced by Shohei Ohtani when he arrived in the U.S., which runs in stark contrast to last winter’s top prize out of the Japanese market, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“He’s not the finished product that Yamamoto is,” one club official recently told The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney. “But there’s not many people in the world who are more talented.”

Sasaki was coveted since his days in high school, and few pitchers from Japan will arrive in the U.S. with as much hype. His fastball was clocked in the triple digits. In a recent analysis, The Athletic’s Eno Sarris noted that even with a slight step back in velocity and results for last season, Sasaki still showed signs of translating his success stateside. Only Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes rank ahead of Sasaki on The Athletic’s free-agent rankings.

“If he was someone in the amateur draft, he’d easily be a top-five draft pick,” one high-ranking executive in the sport said. “Probably better.”

It’s unclear which international class Sasaki will be a part of. MLB’s 2024 international signing period runs until Dec. 15, and the 2025 period begins Jan. 15. Clubs are committed to players in both classes already, but Sasaki is a special talent that teams have been preparing to court.

It’s unclear exactly when that process will be underway, but once Sasaki is posted, he has 45 days to sign. He is expected to join an MLB team for 2025. The news went out at 1 a.m. on the East Coast of the U.S., which was 3 p.m. in Chiba.

While Sasaki’s arrival in MLB this offseason was long speculated, it also seemed possible it might wait a couple of years. Had Chiba Lotte delayed until 2026, when Sasaki was 25, both he and the club could have made considerably more money. Sasaki then would be considered a “foreign professional” in the eyes of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement, and he would not be subject to the international bonus pool. That’s the classification Yamamoto fell under last offseason when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $325 million.

The Dodgers, home to Shohei Ohtani in addition to Yamamoto, have been often linked to Sasaki. The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have followed him closely as well, among others. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Padres have scouted the Pacific Rim extensively and have been aggressive in that market.

NPB players have to play for nine years in the league to become an international free agent and freely sign with an MLB team, without being posted for bidding. Because that wait time is so long, the best Japanese players typically arrive in the U.S. via the bidding system.

Sasaki pitched for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and drew attention for hitting triple digits with his fastball. He throws a slider and splitter as well. His durability is likely his largest question mark.

(Photo: Sam Navarro / USA Today)

BYU’s perfect season remained intact on Saturday as the Cougars scored 12 unanswered points in the second half to come back and top Utah, 22-21.

Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff led an 11-play, 65-yard drive to set up Will Ferrin for a 44-yard field goal to go ahead with three seconds left. The Utes were up 21-10 at the half.

After the game, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan spoke to reporters and launched into critical comments about the referees.

“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said, via ESPN. “We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.

“I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”

JALEN MILROE RUSHES FOR 4 TOUCHDOWNS, NEARLY 200 YARDS AS NO. 11 ALABAMA DOMINATES NO. 15 LSU

BYU offensive lineman Trevin Ostler (74) celebrates after beating Utah in an NCAA college football game, just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City.  (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Both teams were called for 10 penalties, costing Utah 97 yards compared to BYU’s 67 yards. Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn was called for holding as the team sacked Retzlaff on 4th down with 1:29 left in the game. The sack would have ended the game without the penalty.

“Whatever decision the refs make, I don’t think they’re trying to get it wrong, so that’s just part of the game,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said after the game. “The refs are part of the game. We were able to capitalize on that.”

Retzlaff was 15-of-33 with 219 passing yards and the rushing touchdown. Chase Roberts had six catches for 91 yards.

Utah’s Brandon Rose had two touchdown passes and an interception. He was 12-of-21 passing for 112 yards.

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff passes in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Salt Lake City.  (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)

Utah fell to 4-5.

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If you’re a fan of amateur basketball, there’s no better place to spend the next four months than Southern California, where talent at the high school level has converged among the classes of 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 to create one of those “I can’t believe it” moments.

“No question, it’s special,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said.

“SoCal basketball is the greatest amateur basketball in the world right now. Tomorrow may be different but today,” Inglewood coach Jason Crowe Sr. said in a tweet.

Let’s start with the class of 2025. Nikolas Khamenia from Harvard-Westlake has grown to 6 feet 9, won two gold medals representing USA national teams and is committed to Duke. Brayden Burries from Eastvale Roosevelt is a 6-4 guard considered the best uncommitted senior in California after averaging 24.8 points for a 31-4 team last season.

The class of 2026 is unprecedented in the quality of talent concentrated in one area. Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Brandon McCoy of St. John Bosco, Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth, Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood, Tajh Ariza of Westchester and Christian Collins of St. John Bosco are top-15 college prospects.

Add Kaiden Bailey from Santa Margarita, Luke Barnett from Mater Dei, Brannon Martinsen from JSerra, and a Southland all-star team could travel the country and take on anyone.

“To have this many national-level-caliber players in Southern California is pretty amazing,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said.

Players have played with and against each other, so that raises the level of intensity for the upcoming matchups. Stokes and McCoy were teammates on the USA U17 gold-medal team. Crowe and Arenas have been club teammates. Ariza and Collins used to be teammates at St. Bernard. Much of the talent is concentrated in the Mission and Trinity leagues, and games involving them will be played on Jan. 10 in a special one-day showcase at the Intuit Dome.

The class of 2027 is led by La Mirada’s Gene Roebuck, who averaged 24.1 points as a freshman. The Barnes twins, Carter and Isaiah, should be much improved at Crespi.

Corona Centennial has 6-3 freshman Kai Patton, who coach Josh Giles said is “the most freakish athletic freshman I’ve had in 22 years of coaching.” Mater Dei’s 6-7 freshman Evan Willis also is highly regarded.

There are players from Senegal, China, the Republic of Congo, Croatia, South Sudan, Russia and Nigeria on rosters, adding to the intrigue of overflowing talent in the Southland.

For the first time, the Southern Section will use a computer algorithm to place teams in playoff divisions, which will be culture shock to some. There’s no more knowing divisions before the season begins. It’s similar to football, where teams in the same league could face off in the opening round.

With the season starting Nov. 18, there are four teams that start out as elite: St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake, Eastvale Roosevelt and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. There are others capable of reaching that level, including Mater Dei, JSerra, Sierra Canyon, Damien and Windward.

Injuries and the sit-out period for eligibility could result in uncertainty early on. Stokes has a wrist injury, so he could be sidelined for weeks at Notre Dame. Servite has players 6-9 and 6-11 from Senegal who become eligible Dec. 27.

Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight begins his 43rd season.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Mater Dei has 10 players with grade-point averages above 4.0, so coach Gary McKnight, entering his 43rd season as the winningest coach in California, is excited. “It’s fun to come to practice,” he said.

The most improbable City Section final in history happened last season, when King/Drew defeated LACES 51-45 in the Open Division final. Then a group of King/Drew players transferred to Washington Prep in the offseason, led by All-City guard Donald Thompson Jr. They won’t be eligible until Dec. 27. It’s another wide-open affair to determine No. 1, with Westchester the early favorite.

Players to watch

Nikolas Khamenia, Harvard-Westlake, 6-9, Sr: Duke commit won two gold medals in summer competitions

Brandon McCoy, St. John Bosco, 6-4, Jr: His athleticism, competitiveness, defensive toughness are second to none.

Alijah Arenas, Chatsworth, 6-5, Jr: City Section’s No. 1 player keeps improving.

Jason Crowe Jr., Inglewood, 6-2, Jr: Averaged 37.4 and 36 points the last two seasons at Lynwood.

Brayden Burries, Eastvale Roosevelt, 6-5, Sr: Versatile, fierce, unselfish and a true leader.

Tyran Stokes, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 6-7, Jr: Prolific Prep transfer has NBA-like skills.

Tahj Ariza, Westchester, 6-8, Jr: Playing at his father’s alma mater offers unique opportunity.

Elzie Harrington, St. John Bosco, 6-5, Sr: Harvard commit has gained confidence and strength.

Nathaniel Garcia, Damien, 7-0, Sr: California Baptist commit is stronger, more athletic and taller.

Brandon Benjamin, Anaheim Canyon, 6-6, Sr: San Diego commit has improved as a three-point shooter.