Juan Soto will grab all headlines for the Yankees this winter as they tirelessly work toward trying to retain him in free agency, but there could be another sweepstakes that capture their attention alongside it. Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, is expected to be posted and join this year’s free agency class according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, and while the Yankees aren’t the prohibitive favorites for him, they’ve extensively scouted the young flamethrower who sports a 100 MPH fastball.
Last season was a down year for Sasaki as his fastball regressed in velocity and movement, but he still posted a 2.35 ERA with 129 strikeouts across 111 innings pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Roki Sasaki Should Garner Plenty of Attention From the Yankees in Free Agency
The Chiba Lotte Marines have no incentive to post Roki Sasaki, as they would miss out on a passive payday from the posting fee they would get if they waited until he was 25 to post him. Many have scoffed at the idea of Sasaki joining this year’s free agency class for that very reason, but there’s also a chance that there’s a clause in his contract that would allow him to be posted early similar to Shohei Ohtani back in 2017.
Kiley McDaniel alongside many others in the baseball industry has reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers would be the favorites to land his services, and it makes sense given what they have to offer. The reigning World Series Champions, have two Japanese superstars and a bevy of player development resources that he could benefit from. Money won’t be a factor here, however, as if Sasaki is posted this year he would have to sign what essentially is a rookie deal.
He would be a pre-arbitration player for three seasons, have three years of arbitation, and then hit free agency, the same way that Shohei Ohtani did when he came over from the NPB. For the Yankees, their odds of landing the star pitcher don’t seem very high given his reported preferences.
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There could be a preference toward smaller market teams, which would obviously work against the big market Yankees, and as stated earlier the Dodgers are the perceived favorites. It seems if he goes to a blue-blood franchise, the Dodgers will be his choice, but no one can know anything for certain at this very moment. New York will do their due dillegence, and we know Brian Cashman has deployed serious scouting capital in getting reports on Roki Sasaki.
If the Yankees were to find a way to convince Roki Sasaki to join them, it would immediately create some interesting scenarios for the team this winter. A cost-controlled frontline starter making league-minimum salary could allow the Yankees to move someone like Nestor Cortes who is projected to make roughly $7 million in arbitration for a bat in the infield, keeping their costs down as they pursue Juan Soto.