The excitement round Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki continues to develop after a first round of meetings with MLB teams earlier than 2024 got here to a detailed. With the 23-year-old right-hander not anticipated to signal till Jan. 15 on the earliest, one other spherical of conferences with potential suitors, in addition to some visits to cities and stadiums in particular person, is a risk.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, advised reporters in a convention name on Monday that the checklist of groups which have expressed curiosity in his consumer included 20 of MLB’s 30 groups. He didn’t, nonetheless, specify which groups have already met with Sasaki, however rumors have six or seven teams which have already had face-to-face encounters.
Whereas all 30 MLB groups would like to have Sasaki on their roster, there are three that maybe want him greater than the opposite 27. This is a have a look at these groups and why they belong on the checklist.
San Diego Padres
On the current MLB winter conferences in Dallas, Padres supervisor Mike Shildt was confident about his workforce’s probabilities of touchdown Sasaki, and the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been named because the “clear and heavy favorites” to land him, in keeping with MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Publish.
Whereas the Dodgers would merely be including to their wealth of expertise by signing Sasaki, it may be argued that the Padres want this signing way more than their Interstate-5 rivals. As of Tuesday morning, the Padres have but to make a splash this offseason, whereas their Nationwide League West rivals in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Arizona have all added large names to their rosters.
Including Sasaki to a rotation that features Dylan Stop and Michael King, who completed fourth and seventh, respectively, in final season’s NL Cy Younger Award voting, could be nice on paper, in addition to reinforce the purpose that San Diego ought to be thought-about a critical NL contender.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners want one thing good to occur after an offseason that has been quiet aside from the rumors about a potential Luis Castillo trade. Houston and Texas have already made strikes to spice up their lineups, and if the Mariners are going to compete for the postseason once more this season, one thing must be performed within the New Yr so as to add to a roster that simply missed the playoffs in 2024.
After Castillo, Seattle’s beginning pitching depth is shaky, so Sasaki could be an amazing match. Plus, in a yr the place Japanese and Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki is probably going heading to the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame, how nice wouldn’t it be to have the following potential Japanese famous person start his profession within the Emerald Metropolis?
Baltimore Orioles
After dropping ace Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks in free company, Baltimore wants somebody to step into that function. Whereas which will result in a pressure-packed state of affairs for an MLB rookie, Wolfe has made it clear that he believes Sasaki’s make-up might allow him to handle any state of affairs.
After watching division rivals New York and Boston enhance their rotations, Baltimore has to have some form of reply. Sasaki couldn’t solely present that but additionally come at an inexpensive value since he’s signing with worldwide bonus pool cash (of which the Orioles have roughly $2.1 million left over from this previous yr).
With a youth motion already in full drive in Baltimore, Sasaki would slot in nicely and provides the Orioles another excuse to imagine they will advance farther within the postseason in 2025.
