Before being officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball, Roki Sasaki ending up with the Los Angeles Dodgers seemed like an inevitability.
With their long history with Japanese players and currently having the biggest star the nation has ever produced, Shohei Otani, in addition to the built-in sponsorship potential, Los Angeles seemed like the perfect landing spot for the 23-year-old right-handed fireballer.
Dodgers Now Among Several Top Teams Vying For Roki Sasaki
But several teams have entered the conversation since November 8th.
The first team that has a shot is the San Diego Padres, who with the help of Sasaki’s World Baseball Classic mentor, Yu Darvish have made an important impression on Sasaki. But the two New York teams and both of the Chicago clubs are actively pursuing the six foot-five Monster of the Reiwa Era.
The Chicago White Sox’s need is obvious after losing Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox. But given their historically bad season, their pitch to the pitcher faces an uphill battle given the quality of completion they are faced with. The Cubs are in a similar boat but have had captained experiences for other Japanese players.
Cubs, led by President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer, have already initiated their pursuit of Sasaki, submitting an initial presentation to his agent, Joel Wolfe. The Cubs’ familiarity with Japanese baseball, having successfully developed outfielder Seiya Suzuki and lefty Shota Imanaga, could give them an advantage in the obsequious war for Sasaki.
The advantages for the Yankees and Mets are similar to that of the Dodgers. Both are desperately attempting to build the next MLB dynasty and since Sasaki won’t be able to sign a monster deal due to provisions in international player signing that limit contracts, the ability to supplement his income with larger big market sponsorships that are more readily available to winning clubs may be a mitigating factor.
Sasaki’s agent, Wolfe, has even admitted he is still discovering what is important to his client is looking for in a club.
“He asks a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development, and just watching what other Japanese players in the major leagues are doing and how they are doing it,” Wolfe said.