The New York Mets are not done despite having one of the most active off-seasons in baseball this winter. Along with signing Juan Soto to a monster deal, they have upgraded the pitching staff with the signings of Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and Sean Manaea.
The Mets are frontrunners for Roki Sasaki
However, the Mets would love to bring in a frontline starting pitcher to fortify themselves as true contenders in the 2025 season. After striking out on Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, who signed with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, respectively, the pivot has now become Japanese prodigy Roki Sasaki, whose international signing period opens Jan. 15.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal appeared on Foul Territory TV and listed the Mets as one of the front runners to land the 23-year-old Japanese ace:
“The Dodgers, the Mets, the Yankees, the Padres, the Rangers… those are the obvious front-runners,” Rosenthal said.
Sasaki has reportedly met with 20 teams as he mulls over his decision, which must be made by Jan. 23 after his signing period opens. It has been rumored that he may prefer to sign with a small market team to avoid such a high spotlight, but contending teams will still make very strong pitches given the potential Sasaki has, hoping that he will sign with them.
The Mets could use a dominant ace like Sasaki
The right-handed has a blazing fastball and all the tools to be a dominant ace for a long time. Additionally, it won’t cost teams much to sign him, as he is restricted to signing an amateur contract due to his age and the fact that he has less than six years of professional playing experience.
For the Mets, adding him would give them arguably a top five rotation in all of baseball. Sasaki would also provide them with a true ace in a deep rotation that has many different options. He and Kodai Senga could form an elite one-two punch at the top of their rotation.
They will have competition for Sasaki, but unlike the Soto sweepstakes, money will not be a factor. If the Mets can land him, then this would be the cherry on top to a very strong offseason by the Mets.
