The agent of Japanese ace Roki Sasaki offered a huge update on the New York Mets and Yankees’ pursuit of the young pitcher, including when he is expected to make a decision on which MLB team he wants to play for.
With the MLB offseason a couple of months old, the majority of the top names on the free agent and trade markets are off the board. Juan Soto, the top player in free agency inked a record-shattering deal with the Mets earlier this month. The Boston Red Sox landed the top pitcher on the trade market, Garrett Crochet. And All-Star pitchers Max Fried and Corbin Burnes scored deals worth well over $200 million.
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There are very few legitimate game-changer talents still available. Well, that is outside of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. While the 23-year-old does not have the resume countryman Yoshiobu Yamamoto had this time last year, many MLB pundits believe he can be just as good. However, that is not the only reason he has garnered so much interest.
Due to his age, he will be limited by international free agent guidelines and wealthy teams won’t be able to throw huge sums of money at him. In this situation, every team in the league has a legitimate chance at signing Sasaki if they believe they have a strong pitch.
Over the last couple of weeks, various reports have revealed the teams that reportedly made their pitch to the young ace, and it includes the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees. So the big question is when could Sasaki finally make a decision. Well, his manager Joel Wolfe revealed when that could be. As well as some other fascinating bits of information on the Roki Sasaki chase.
- Roki Sasaki stats (2024): 10-5 Record, 2.35 ERA, 1.036 WHIP, 129 SO, 111.0 IP
20 teams, including the New York Mets, made pitches to Roki Sasaki this month
In a Zoom call with the media on Monday, Wolfe spilled the tea on the Sasaki sweepstakes. The agent revealed that 20 different teams had conversations with the pitcher. Furthermore, Sasaki is completely in charge of the process. And asked that players from interested teams not be a part of the pitches.
The pitcher is back home in Japan for the holidays deliberating on his decision. Wolfe claimed Sasaki could soon start eliminating teams from the candidate list and might decide to have second meetings with finalists. But franchises with strong development programs are a top priority for him.
- Roki Sasaki contract (Projection): Four years, $10 million
Nevertheless, a decision is not coming soon and is unlikely to happen on Jan. 15 when the international signing period begins. Sasaki’s agent suggested that teams like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and other contenders may have to wait until Jan. 23 to find out if they have acquired the highly-coveted pitcher.