Roki Sasaki gained’t be eligible to formally signal with an MLB group till mid-January, however that hasn’t stopped him from making headlines in December. Final week, it was reported that the NPB phenom had met with a minimum of three MLB groups: the Yankees, Mets, and Cubs. At the moment, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Younger confirmed that representatives from his membership with Sasaki final week (per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning Information). In the meantime, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle stories the Giants are “believed to have met” with Sasaki and his representatives.
It comes as no shock that each groups are occupied with Sasaki. The Giants might use extra beginning pitching, and so they’re probably so as to add a minimum of one starter this offseason, whether or not it’s Sasaki or another person. The Rangers, however, have already got a full rotation, however regardless, Sasaki is the form of participant any group would make room for. The 2-time NPB All-Star is extensively thought-about one of the promising younger pitchers on the planet, and his incomes potential is capped by the foundations of worldwide newbie free company. As of proper now, Texas can’t pay him any greater than a $6,261,600 bonus, whereas San Francisco can’t supply him greater than a $5,146,200 bonus.
The Rangers have lengthy had a watch on Sasaki. Firstly of the 2024 season, they had been one in all eight groups that reportedly despatched representatives to observe Sasaki pitch in Japan. One may perceive why Sasaki can be occupied with becoming a member of their membership. Not solely are the Rangers current World Collection winners, however they’ve been one of the energetic groups this offseason on each the commerce and free agent markets. Moreover, Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe lately talked about that Sasaki grew up “idolizing” quite a few Japanese pitchers who made the soar from NPB to MLB. The primary instance Wolfe named was Yu Darvish, who signed with the Rangers when he first arrived stateside in 2012. Evan Grant factors out {that a} pair of entrance workplace executives who had been “key” in signing Darvish, assistant basic supervisor Josh Boyd and Pacific Rim Operations Director Joe Furukawa, are nonetheless working within the group.
As for the Giants, POBO Buster Posey has been notably vocal about his curiosity in Sasaki. Talking on the Winter Conferences, he informed reporters (together with Maria Guardado of MLB.com), “We’d be over the moon so as to add a man like that.” Whereas Posey solely spoke of Sasaki’s expertise, one has to presume he’s additionally captivated by the value tag. The Giants have been carefully linked to free agent Corbin Burnes this winter. However Burnes is presumably trying to signal a contract price effectively over $200MM. In line with Susan Slusser, there are questions on whether or not or not possession will likely be keen to foot that invoice. In Sasaki, the Giants might add a top-of-the-rotation starter for a fraction of the market worth.
From Sasaki’s standpoint, it’s price noting that San Francisco is far nearer to Japan (and has a much bigger Japanese inhabitants) than New York, Chicago, or Dallas-Fort Price-Arlington. Neither Sasaki nor Wolfe has prompt the pitcher has a geographic choice for the place he indicators, however Giants basic supervisor Zack Minasian has expressed hope that San Francisco’s relative proximity to Japan will make “a giant distinction” (per Guardado). Minasian additionally talked about the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park as a possible draw. In any case, Sasaki is used to pitching in a really completely different offensive setting – runs are tougher to return by in NPB. What’s extra, he’s presumably trying to put up numbers which might be as spectacular as attainable. Six years sooner or later, these numbers will assist him money in huge as an unrestricted free agent.
Finally, we nonetheless know little or no about what Sasaki’s considering or the place he would possibly find yourself. The Dodgers and, to a lesser extent, the Padres are steadily cited because the front-runners to signal him, nevertheless it’s not for nothing that he has met with so many different groups. (Neither is it clear if he has met with both the Dodgers or Padres but.) Slusser identifies the Diamondbacks as one other NL West suitor for his providers, although it’s unclear if he has met with anybody from the group. In the meantime, the Phillies are the one membership we all know for sure has not met with Sasaki. Final week, POBO Dave Dombrowski revealed that though the Phillies would love to talk with Sasaki, they haven’t been invited to take action.