The negotiating window for Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki is officially open, and the Mets’ offseason suddenly has the promise of looking even better.
Just two days after signing Juan Soto to the largest contract in professional sports, the Mets have been given a jolt in the Sasaki speculation, as Jim Bowden of The Athletic reported that the 23-year-old’s agency is “very high” on pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.
The former pitcher-turned-coach has built a strong reputation in Japan, which helped the Mets win Kodai Senga’s signature two winters ago. It certainly does not hurt their chances that they just brought on Soto, too, to catapult their World Series hopes.
Sasaki will not come at such a hefty price as Soto or last year’s prized Japanese arm, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because the young righty is under 25, the CBA-accepted posting system will force him to sign a minor-league contract with a bonus only from a team’s international bonus pool, which will range between approximately $5 million and $8 million.
The Dodgers are deemed one of the favorites, boasting Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. The San Diego Padres are also believed to be a team to keep an eye on, given their west-coast location and the presence of Yu Darvish.
But the Mets’ bright future could play a big part in all of this.
“He has paid attention to how teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in the past,” his agent, Joel Wolfe, said on Tuesday from the Winter Meetings. “He does watch a lot of MLB.”‘
The problem is that New York or Los Angeles might not be the greatest landing spot for a young player who has had issues with the media in Japan in recent years, especially when he has to uproot his entire life and learn the nuances of the North American game.
“Roki’s had a tough go of it the past couple years. The media in Japan… has been very tough on him,” Wolfe said. “He’s not had a great time with it. I think it’s been a bit unfair, and it’s affected him mentally. He’s a great kid. He comes from a great family… His dream is to come here to the major leagues. I think he hasn’t really wrapped his head around the individual teams and the individual cities.
“He doesn’t really know much… He was here for a very small amount of time because he was fortunate enough to play in the WBC, but that was a very small glimpse of it.”
Wolfe went on to speculate that signing with a mid-to-small-market team might be “more beneficial” for his client, which would provide a “soft landing” in Major League Baseball before hitting the open market down the road.
“Might be. I’m not saying it will be,” Wolfe said. “It might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market. I don’t really know how he looks at it yet because I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and discuss it with him in great detail.”
