Updated Post: Jan 13 at 4:00 pm
Joel Sherman of MLB Network confirmed the Mets are out on Sasaki. The club was informed Monday.
Original Post: Jan 13 at 3:35 pm
The Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes are dwindling down and his MLB home will likely be revealed this week. Here’s the latest:
Who’s Out?
As noted below and confirmed by SNY’s Andy Martino, the Mets are not expected to sign Sasaki even though they haven’t told they are out of the running.
Sources tell YES Network‘s Jack Curry that the Yankees are out of the running for Rōki Sasaki as well. Meanwhile, per Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle, Sasaki won’t be heading to the Giants. The news came per general manager Zack Minasian on the Justin Verlander intro call. The Giants had met with Sasaki in person.
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Who’s In?
Ben Badler of Baseball America details the likeliest landing spots for Rōki Sasaki, and the Mets don’t crack the top four. Badler notes, “The Mets would seem to check a lot of boxes, but they now seem unlikely to sign Sasaki.”
Badler names the Texas Rangers, Yankees, Padres and Dodgers as the likeliest landing spots for the bonafide star, with the Dodgers coming out on top. The Rangers, Yankees and Padres all hold $6,261,600 million in bonus pool money, which can max out at $10,018,560 with potential bonuses. This is where it gets interesting: the Dodgers have $5,146,200 in bonus pool money, tied for the second-lowest in baseball with the Giants. It can max out at $8,233,920 with potential bonuses.
Sasaki will likely eat up a team’s entire international bonus pool slot for the year, and rightfully so. The question remains whether he takes a lower amount to play with a team like the Dodgers or tries to the most right now.
Meanwhile Up North
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Blue Jays met with sought-after free agent Rōki Sasaki last week.
Sources told Rosenthal the meeting occurred in Toronto, and Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins and Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe declined to comment. This is in keeping with the hush-hush, behind-closed-doors style of these high-profile meetings.
The Blue Jays were linked to big names like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto the past couple of years before they signed elsewhere.
Sasaki’s market has already impacted the international free agent class. Because the righty is expected to sign between January 15 (when the international signing period opens) and January 23 (the last day of Sasaki’s posting window), teams are delaying commitments to other prospects or weighing trades with other clubs involving international cash, per Will Sammon of The Athletic.
According to Sammon, some teams, like the Padres, told players they were expected to sign that they were free to seek deals elsewhere. The Dodgers even told players to consider signing as part of the following year’s international class if the team happens to land Sasaki and can’t afford the other players they committed to via handshake deal.
All to say, Sasaki looks to be a generational player. His age and status have already caused a stir this offseason in more ways than one, and it’ll be exciting to see where he lands in the coming week.
