San Francisco Giants Target Roki Sasaki Expected To Be Posted Next Week

The San Francisco Giants dream target is expected to be posted next week when Major League Baseball convenes in Dallas for the winter meetings.

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 San Francisco Giants aren't expected to spend much this winter, though their Saturday agreement with shortstop Willy Adames gave baseball a bit of a shock.

But that deal shouldn't hurt their chances of signing right-hander Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki, 23, is the top international free agent available this winter, and because of international signing rules, his contract won't be similar to a normal free agent.

Sasaki can only get money out of the international signing pool, with the highest pool expected to be around $7.5 million this winter.

Plus, there's only so much the Giants or any team can give. Per MLB, every team’s international bonus money has slots. For example, a team with a $3 million pool might have had a $1.5 million slot, an $800,000 slot, a $400,000 slot and a $300,000 slot.

The Giants can't simply hand all of their international bonus pool to Sasaki. Their pitch will have to include why he should join San Francisco.

There were rumors about Sasaki not being posted a few weeks ago, but the Chiba Lotte Marines granted his wishes, allowing the young ace to join Major League Baseball.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Sasaki will officially be posted next week during Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.

"Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to be officially posted at Major League Baseball's winter meetings next week, sources told ESPN on Saturday, opening a 45-day window in which teams will try to convince him to choose them once the international amateur signing period opens Jan. 15."

The Giants will have 45 days from the time he's posted to give him their best sales pitch. Japanese players have often stayed on the West Coast, and while the Los Angeles Dodgers have been considered the favorites to land him, being in California should help San Francisco's chances of getting a deal done.

Sasaki would be the perfect addition to a Giants rotation that could use another elite arm after losing Blake Snell. Sasaki will have to prove he's as good as someone like Snell, but evaluators view him as an ace-caliber arm instantly and someone who could win a Cy Young Award early in his career.