The thrill round Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki continues to develop after a first round of meetings with MLB teams earlier than 2024 got here to an in depth. 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, informed 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 take a look at these groups and why they belong on the checklist.
San Diego Padres
On the latest MLB winter conferences in Dallas, Padres supervisor Mike Shildt was confident about his group’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 Submit.
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 rather 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, can 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 the postseason once more this season, one thing needs to be achieved within the New 12 months 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 can be an ideal 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 would it not be to have the subsequent potential Japanese celebrity start his profession within the Emerald Metropolis?
Baltimore Orioles
After shedding ace Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks in free company, Baltimore wants somebody to step into that position. Whereas that 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 may allow him to handle any state of affairs.
After watching division rivals New York and Boston enhance their rotations, Baltimore has to have some type of reply. Sasaki couldn’t solely present that, but in addition come at an affordable 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 effectively and provides the Orioles another excuse to imagine they’ll advance farther within the postseason in 2025.
