Could This Be Why Roki Sasaki Didn't Make Mets a Free Agency Finalist?

An MLB insider alluded to one reason why Roki Sasaki may not have been a fit in the New York Mets' clubhouse.
Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

As most New York Mets fans likely know by now, 23-year-old Japanese right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki is making his decision on which MLB team he will play for some time between January 15 and January 23.

Unfortunately, most Mets fans are also aware by now that their team is not a finalist in the Sasaki sweepstakes. This shouldn't come as a surprise, after SNY's MLB insider Andy Martino said, "I'm not hearing a lot of optimism in the industry that the Mets will be the team for Roki Sasaki," during a January 7 appearance on Mets Hot Stove.

The presumed biggest factor in Sasaki's decision has been his preference for playing on the West Coast, which is why the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been seen as the two favorites to sign him for months.

But in a January 14 X post, ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney suggested another intriguing potential reason for Sasaki's denial to make the Mets a finalist.

"In Roki Sasaki's past meetings with teams, he has come across as a very quiet, very serious person. This is being interpreted by some teams as a sign that he might prefer to be in a place where he isn't the center of attention -- in a smaller market, or among more established stars," Olney wrote.

There has always been speculation about Sasaki potentially preferring a smaller market at this point in his career. However, it's interesting to hear Olney alluding to Sasaki's "very serious" personality being something that could have kept him away from Queens.

What's for sure is that the Mets cluhouse seemingly being the opposite of quiet and serious last season was paramount to their success. For that reason, perhaps it's for the best that Sasaki is headed elsewhere.


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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.