DALLAS — The Mets and Yankees are gearing up for their second bidding war of the offseason. With Juan Soto off the board, Rōki Sasaki becomes one of the most coveted free agents on the market.
The Japanese ace was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines on Dec. 9, thus beginning a 45-day period for him to sign with an MLB team. The fireballer should receive widespread interest in the coming days and weeks, as the 23-year-old’s age limits him to international signing bonus pool money after recording a 2.02 ERA over four seasons in Japan.
Some have pegged the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres as favorites for Sasaki, but his agent, Joel Wolfe, said the right-hander hasn’t mentioned a preference for the West Coast. Wolfe suggested his client could benefit from being on a team in a smaller market. Sasaki appears to be apprehensive of large media contingents after facing intense scrutiny in Japan.
“There’s an argument to be made that a small or mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing. Might be. I’m not saying it will be,” Wolfe said at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday. “But I really don’t know how he looks at it yet because I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and discuss with him in great detail.”
Wolfe felt the media in Japan was “very tough” on Sasaki. The agent felt overseas coverage of the youngster was “unfair” and “affected him a bit mentally,” specifying that he was only talking about the media in Japan, not the large Japanese contingent that covers baseball in the States, or American reporters.
Despite his preference for a smaller media market, Wolfe said they have not closed the door on a New York team. Both the Yankees and Mets are expected to pursue Sasaki. The New York teams have $6,261,600 in their bonus pool, according to Baseball America. Some teams have as much as $7,555,500.
“I think he could handle it,” Wolfe said.
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently watched Sasaki in Japan, but did not meet with him. Stearns was unaware of his feelings about the media and had not heard from Wolfe or anyone else that Sasaki would be uncomfortable playing in a place like New York.
“It’s very difficult in these processes to truly understand what a player’s preference is,” Stearns said. “This isn’t a normal free agent recruitment process, so we’re going to submit our presentations and our materials just like everyone else. We’ll wait for his campus feedback.”
The Yankees have been scouting Sasaki for years, giving the organization a solid idea of the pitcher he could be in the States.
“I think the one thing industry-wise and certainly with us is we recognize that this is a pitcher that has a chance to be an ace over here,” Aaron Boone said shortly after Wolfe spoke. “It’s that kind of talent. So we’ll see.”
Boone’s sales pitch to Sasaki is that, “There is no better place to do it than in New York with the pinstripes.” Asked if the Yankees could sell Sasaki on their highly praised pitching development apparatus, Boone said the team’s reputation could come up in discussions.
“That’s for a later date of when he really wants to dive into how we do things, how we evaluate things,” the manager said. “Maybe there’s areas where we’d see if there’s little things that we can do to see immediate improvement.”
The Mets have a completed pitch deck ready to go for Sasaki. They’re hoping to sell him on the organizational culture, the vast resources when it comes to data, analytics, strength and conditioning, and their overall pitching philosophies and processes.
Stearns will also emphasize their experience in helping Kodai Senga transition to the North American game. Senga was an accomplished veteran in the NPB when Sasaki was entering the league and pitched like one for the Mets in 2023, going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA, the second-lowest in the NL behind Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (2.25). While Senga wasn’t a finalist for the award, he did earn Cy Young votes, and came in second place in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Next year, the Mets are hoping to go to a six-man rotation in order to accommodate extra days off for Senga, and potentially for Sasaki.
“I think once you have one guy in the rotation who needs the extra [day of rest], adding the second — especially with someone of this caliber — isn’t a isn’t a particular challenge,” Stearns said. “You’re already more or less committing to going to that six-man rotation. It’s not like adding a second needs to go to the seven-man rotation, so I think we’re OK with it.”
