The New York Mets are in the market for starting pitching this offseason, and they have a realistic shot at landing one of the top international free agents this winter.
The Mets have a strong chance to land Roki Sasaki
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets are expected to be “significant players” in the sweepstakes for Japanese righty Roki Sasaki. The pitcher is expected to be posted officially during the Winter Meetings, which begin Monday.
“While the Los Angeles Dodgers have long been linked to Sasaki — and will remain so, with his Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto integral parts of their 2024 World Series-winning team — him joining them is no fait accompli. Among the other teams expected to be significant players in the Sasaki sweepstakes: the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants,” Passan wrote.
Sasaki, 23, will be signing a contract with an MLB team at a massive discount, as rules state that international players below the age of 25 and with less than six years of playing experience must sign as amateur free agents. Therefore, he will be one of the more sought-after pitchers on the market, along with top-of-the-line starting pitchers such as Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.
Sasaki has the tools to be an untouchable MLB starter, with an arsenal headlined by a blazing fastball. He recorded a 2.35 ERA and struck out 129 batters with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) in Japan.
The Mets need starting pitching
The Mets have one Japanese starter already in their rotation in Kodai Senga, who has shown the potential to be a frontline starter in the big leagues. However, injuries limited Senga to just one regular season start and three postseason appearances last season.
The rest of their rotation is fairly thin outside of Senga. They signed Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to be featured in their rotation, but adding Sasaki to it would suddenly give them a solid group to compete with.
The Mets are involved in many different sweepstakes, including the highly-coveted Juan Soto sweepstakes. How many of the top free agents they land this winter is still unclear, but if they can land Sasaki once he is posted, they will be bringing in one of the most talented arms in the market with great upside.
