Seattle Mariners Don't Appear to Be in the Running For Roki Sasaki
Outside of the sweepstakes for Juan Soto, the race for Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki is the biggest free agent storyline this offseason.
Sasaki owns the NPB record for most strikeouts in a single game (19) and the professional baseball record for consecutive strikeouts in a single game (13).
79 seconds of Roki Sasaki's 100mph Fastballs (or higher). ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/VGHphmJTIt
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 21, 2023
The 23-year old starting pitcher, and potential major league ace, will be counted toward the international signing pool and is only eligible for a minor league deal due to not being 25 years-old. Because of that, his current team, the Chiba Lotte Mariners, will post him after Jan. 15 to get the biggest financial return.
That date marks the beginning of the 2025 international singing period and it's when most team's cash pool resets. The max available pool money teams have available is $7.6 million. Teams can also add 60% of that amount, which would give Sasaki a max potential signing bonus of $12.15 million.
The Seattle Mariners are one of the teams with the max amount of international money to spend in free agency.
Despite owning arguably the best starting rotation in baseball, the Mariners have one of the best pitches to offer the World Baseball Classic gold medalist.
Seattle has a history of signing successful Japanese-born players like Ichiro Suzuki, Yusei Kikuchi and Hisashi Iwakuma. Their pitching development staff is also one of the best in the league with four of the five starters on the rotation being drafted and coached by the Mariners.
Despite reports that Seattle was preparing a pitch for Sasaki, a recent story from a national publication didn't have the Pacific Northwest as one of the most likely landing spots for the two-time NPB All-Star.
Baseball America listed the top seven landing spots for Sasaki. In reverse order, they named the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
There's been a lot of conflicting rumors for what Sasaki is searching for in an MLB club. Several reports have indicated that he's looking for a team that will be able to develop him (like the Mariners can). He'd also be under less pressure with a rotation like Seattle than he would be a big-media market like Los Angeles or New York.
Sasaki has the potential to be the No. 1 starter on most starting rotations in the league. There's a good chance that most teams in the league at least inquire about his availability.
The odds are in favor of the Padres or the Dodgers winning out for Sasaki's services, but the Mariners' potential pitch is convincing.
Seattle fans will have to late until at least mid-January to see if the pitch comes to fruition.
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