Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon from The Athletic reported Saturday ($) that the Phillies are among seven "favorites" to land Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki.
The report listed the Dodgers, Padres, Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs as the other teams "viewed in the industry as among the early favorites." Sasaki will be posted by his Japanese club, the Chiba Lotte Marines, during the MLB winter meetings. That will open up a 45-day negotiating window for interested teams.
Rōki Sasaki, 92mph Splitter and 102mph Fastball, Individual Pitches + Overlay pic.twitter.com/pSu8cvaW9n
The Phils' interest in Sasaki is not new. In early November, On Pattison discussed rumors circulating in Japan about the club's efforts to scout the 23-year-old phenom: "Nikkon Sports, a Japanese newspaper with a daily circulation of over 1.6 million, indicated [Friday, Nov. 8] that 'numerous [Phillies] scouts made numerous visits to Japan this year,' and that 'top-level members of the organization repeatedly checked out leading players such as . . . Sasaki in person."
Whether the interest is mutual remains to be seen. Other teams have geographical advantages that players from Japan find alluring, and/or have other Japanese players on their roster that could help ease Sasaki's transition to the U.S. The Phillies, meanwhile, are behind the curve in the market. So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi are the only Japanese players to ever don a Fightins uniform.
© Howard Smith | 2008 Apr 29Importantly, intricacies of the posting process will prohibit any MLB team from offering Sasaki more than $7.56 million. Not every MLB team will have that much money available in their international bonus pool, but all teams have over $5 million available. So the Phillies, with about $6.3 million available, will not be able to woo Sasaki with money alone. The pursuit of the righthander will come down to a recruiting exercise.
An interesting side-note in terms of such recruiting efforts: On Pattison assessed the Phillies' potential interest in Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki on Friday, noting that such an acquisition could help build the Phillies' brand in Japan. (Suzuki was born in Tokyo.) The outfielder is an interesting possible fit for the Phils regardless of their interest in Sasaki. But his presence with the club certainly wouldn't hurt the Phillies' chase for Sasaki or other Japanese stars.
Sasaki will be one of the most intriguing players to join Major League Baseball this offseason. He has a triple-digit fastball and, despite his young age, his accomplishments overseas are already legendary. In an extremely high-profile high school tournament, Sasaki threw a 12-inning, 21-strikeout, 194-pitch complete game. And since joining the Nippon Professional League (NPL), his stats are extraordinary:
Roki Sasaki career stats:
414.2 IP
2.02 ERA
524 K
0.883 WHIP
Do you envision the 22 year-old RHP landing in Queens this winter? pic.twitter.com/obgHlW5TWB
The Athletic report indicates that "in particular, the Dodgers have been heavily linked to Sasaki." No surprise there.
But it's nice to see the Phillies mentioned among the teams in the mix.
