The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are heating up, as his international signing period begins approximately three weeks from now. The San Francisco Giants are reportedly among the teams that have met with the star pitcher out of Japan.
The Giants have met with Roki Sasaki
“The Giants, meanwhile, are “believed to have met” with Sasaki, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco has more obvious needs in its rotation, though the club has been linked to free-agent right-hander Corbin Burnes, even being considered a favorite to land the former Cy Young Award winner,” a recent MLB.com article read.
The Giants will have competition to get Sasaki, as many other teams have either met or are planning to meet with the pitcher. Among the teams that have already met with him are the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, and Rangers.
San Francisco is badly in need of pitching depth after losing Blake Snell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. They have been active in free agency early on this offseason, as they added shortstop Willy Adames to upgrade the offense.
The Giants need starting pitching help
The Giants are heavily in the starting pitching market, and they could make a push for Sasaki if they miss out on Corbin Burnes in free agency. Sasaki can only sign an amateur-level deal since he is only 23 years old and has less than six years of experience, so signing him wouldn’t be as big of a financial commitment as Burnes would.
San Francisco has solid starters in their rotation already, as Jordan Hicks and Logan Webb figure to be consistent arms at the top of the rotation. However, they are missing that true ace that can make that unit more potent, and Sasaki has the tools to be a dominant major league starter and give the Giants an elite starting rotation.
Sasaki will continue to meet with suitors as his signing period approaches but expect the Giants to push hard for him given their bigger need to address their pitching staff.
