YouTube Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, and now the baseball world has been set ablaze after the news that Japanese superstar pitcher Roki Sasaki would be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Sasaki, 23, is the No. 3 ranked player on The Athletic's top 40 MLB free agent big board, behind only Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes.

For years, Seattle was regarded as a premier destination for Japanese players making the jump to Major League Baseball. The Mariners had strong ties across the Pacific: They had a longtime owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi,