Chicago Cubs Signing Roki Sasaki Would Be Perfect Offseason Transaction

An MLB insider has named signing starting pitcher Roki Sasaki as the perfect transaction for the Chicago Cubs this offseason.

Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs that agents have not been thrilled with thus far this offseason.

Despite playing in one of the biggest markets, their ownership has not been willing to spend like clubs in similar situations, such as the New York Yankees, New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a result, the team has been stuck in limbo a little bit. The roster is solid, and there are a few players being paid a pretty penny. As Jeff Passan of ESPN shared, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Jameson Taillon will earn a combined $113.5 million in 2025.

But to compete with the contenders, a splash or two that nets some high-end talent needs to be made to upgrade the roster.

“Perhaps that comes via trade, if they move second baseman Nico Hoerner to make room for Shaw. It's a high-wire act to navigate, though, and if indeed austerity is the Cubs' modus operandi, they need to do absolutely everything they can to persuade the only high-end free agent available at low cost this winter to join the Cubs and prove 2016 wasn't just a one-time feeling,” wrote Passan.

Of course, the player that the MLB insider is referring to is international pitching sensation, Roki Sasaki, which Passan named as the perfect transaction for Chicago to make this offseason.

The 23-year-old phenom is expected to be posted and come over to North America for the 2025 season. But because of international free agency rules, he won’t be signing a megadeal like Yoshinobu Yamamoto received from the Dodgers last offseason.

Because he is not 25, Sasaki is capped by international bonus pool money restrictions and categorized as an international amateur free agent under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

This will be more in line with the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels for a bonus of $2.3 million. The Cubs only have $237,300 in international bonus pool money in 2024 to spend, but in 2025, that number will jump to $6,261,600.

14 teams in the MLB will have more than that to spend, putting Chicago somewhat behind the eight-ball. But, they should pursue him aggressively, as he would be a massive boost for the rotation and cost nothing close to what a player of his caliber would command on the open market.

It will be interesting to see if Passan’s perfect transaction comes to fruition.

The Cubs already made a move in free agency, signing left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd away from the Cleveland Guardians. That could be the only move they make with a rotation that already includes Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele and Javier Assad.

Alas, you can never have enough pitching. And a player of Sasaki’s caliber should be pursued by an ownership group who hasn’t shown a willingness to break the bank for players in free agency.