Sources say Japanese slugger Sasaki Rintaro from Stanford University has decided to join the Miami Marlins in Major League Baseball.
The Marlins selected Sasaki with the 235th overall pick in the eighth round of the MLB draft on Sunday.
Last year, Japan’s professional baseball team Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks selected Sasaki in the first round. Fans and the baseball community have been closely watching which team he would choose. Sources said Sasaki decided by Wednesday to join the Marlins.
The slugger hit 140 home runs for Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture. After graduating from high school, he went to Stanford University, eyeing a chance to play in the major leagues.
Sasaki hit 16 home runs in league games in his second year at Stanford. His powerful batting has also been highly praised in the US. After being picked by the Marlins, Sasaki has until July 27 to decide whether to sign with the team.
The Miami Marlins, based in Florida, are a relatively new team that played their first MLB season in 1993. The team has won the World Series twice, in 1997 and 2003.
The Marlins lost 100 games in 2024 and have missed the postseason in each of the past two seasons. But this season, helped by emerging young players, they have a winning percentage above .500 and are in third place in the National League East.
Sources say Sasaki is expected to explain his decision to join the Marlins at a news conference.