The calendar has flipped to January, and Roki Sasaki is approximately two weeks away from deciding which team he will sign up for to complete his jump from Japan to the major leagues.
The good news for the Mets and Yankees is that they are still in the mix.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic further cemented both New York clubs’ standing in the Sasaki sweepstakes this week, adding that there is plenty of competition from the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and “maybe” the San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers and Padres are still believed to be the favorites for the 23-year-old right-handed phenom, who possesses a fastball that has touched 102 mph and a splitter that is believed to be one of the more devastating putaway pitches on the planet.
The defending champions can offer the possibility of completing a juggernaut with Sasaki in their ranks, rolling out a starting rotation that also includes Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow.
Los Angeles’ NL West rival, the Padres, was specifically mentioned by Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, as a team that would be seriously considered. Sasaki’s childhood hero and World Baseball Classic roommate with Team Japan, Yu Darvish, plays for the Padres, and Hideo Nomo—one of the most revered Japanese pitchers ever to make the jump to the majors—also works for the organization.
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But the Mets will be able to set forth a strong pitch to Sasaki, guaranteeing that he will be on a legitimate pennant contender. The signing of Juan Soto catapulted their championship odds after a surprise run to the NLCS last season, and getting a pitcher of Sasaki’s stature to add to the top of the rotation alongside compatriot Kodai Senga brings an immeasurable boost to the Mets’ rotation.
As it stands, the Mets are attacking their starting-pitching stable for 2025 by committee. While they brought back Sean Manaea, they took fliers on Frankie Montas and ex-Yankees closer Clay Holmes as the arms to replace Jose Quintana and Luis Severino. David Peterson and Paul Blackburn would fill out a potential six-man rotation. Sasaki makes that unit look more fitting for a team ready to make a championship run.
The Yankees have absorbed the blow of losing Soto to the Mets by making savvy moves to improve their roster, and they could very well be the favorites to repeat as American League champions.
While they signed Paul Goldschmidt to play first and acquired Clay Bellinger to take over at center to shift Aaron Judge to Soto’s old spot in right, the Yankees have made most of their noise with their pitching moves. They signed former Braves ace Max Fried to the richest contract ever handed out to a left-hander, and they also acquired star closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Bringing on Sasaki would give the Yankees the best rotation in the American League, if not all of baseball, behind maybe only the Dodgers. Fried has joined forces with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon in the Bronx; Sasaki would put things over the top.
Sasaki will be posted until Jan. 23, which will give him eight days after Major League Baseball’s international bonus pool resets to finalize his decision.
