The Roki Sasaki Race: MLB Teams Made Films, Books to Court Bargain Phenom

The high-profile Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are heating up, and it appears the star Japanese pitcher is already starting to winnow the field of suitors. 

The 23-year-old Sasaki is widely seen as the best pitcher still available, particularly after the Diamondbacks’ recent signing of Corbin Burnes, and he will come at a massive financial discount to MLB clubs given his current status as an international amateur free agent. 

Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, said Monday that 20 of MLB’s 30 clubs have expressed interest in signing the phenom, but meetings have only happened with “a set few number of teams” over the past several weeks. Sasaki is set to make a decision between Jan. 15, when MLB’s next international signing period opens, and Jan. 23, when his posting window from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball closes.

Wolfe added that traditional indicators driving the preferences of MLB free agents, such as market size or team history of winning, won’t necessarily apply in the same way for Sasaki.

“He doesn’t seem to look at it in the typical way that other players do,” Wolfe said. “He has a more long-term, global view of things. I believe Roki is also very interested in the pitching development and how a team is going to help him get better, both in the near future and over the course of his career.”

High-End Presentations

The identities of any of the teams that Sasaki and Wolfe met with at Wasserman’s Los Angeles office have not been confirmed. Six clubs, however, are reportedly on that list including the market-leading Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees, along with the Cubs, Giants, and Rangers. The Padres are also still believed to be under serious consideration. Wolfe did say the interested teams sent in a wide variety of highly polished presentations.

“I mean, it was like the Roki film festival,” Wolfe said. “There were highly in-depth PowerPoint presentations, short films. Some teams made actual books. They had people that clearly spent hundreds of hours researching Roki and his personal background, his professional background.”

Sasaki is seen as a potentially generational talent, having already put up a 2.02 career earned run average and 524 strikeouts in just 414.2 innings in four seasons of pro experience.

“He is a guy that wants to be great. He’s not coming here just to be rich or get a huge contract,” Wolfe said. “He wants to be great. He wants to be one of the greatest ever. I see that now.”