Inside The Mets

Ex-Mets Cy Young Compared to Possible International Free Agent Target

An international superstar was compared to one of the greatest New York Mets players of this century.

Grant Young

Oct 8, 2022; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) reacts after giving a home run against the San Diego Padres in the third inning during game two of the Wild Card series for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field.Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 8, 2022; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) reacts after giving a home run against the San Diego Padres in the third inning during game two of the Wild Card series for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field.Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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Former New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom has arguably been MLB's best pitcher since entering the league in 2014.

deGrom, who has started two games for the Texas Rangers this season, spent the first nine seasons of his MLB career in New York. Throughout his iconic career, he has produced an 84-57 record with a sterling 2.52 ERA and 1,661 strikeouts in 1,363 innings pitched. He was also the NL Rookie of the Year in 2024, a four-time MLB All-Star, a two-time All-MLB First Team honoree, and a two-time NL Cy Young.

It's surely still strange for Mets fans to see deGrom wearing another jersey aside from their own. Yet, the reality is that their longtime ace is no longer in New York.

Although the Mets could eventually be in play for an international pitcher who received a startling comparison to deGrom in a September 22 article from Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

"[Former Mets GM Billy] Eppler, who was GM of the Angels when they landed Shohei Ohtani and has strong ties in Japan, could be a shrewd hire for a team making a run at Roki Sasaki, Japan’s most talented pitcher who has teams drooling," Nightengale wrote.

"He is a healthy Jacob deGrom," one executive said, "only better. He might have the best stuff I’ve ever seen."

For those who don't know, Roki Sasaki is a 22-year-old pitcher who plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) league. Sasaki has a 2.12 career ERA in four seasons spent playing in the NPB and amassed a 1–0 record with a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts across 7.2 innings pitched for Team Japan's 2023 World Baseball Classic-winning squad.

Hearing Sasaki compared to deGrom is jarring; especially for Mets fans, who witnessed deGrom's greatness firsthand for nearly a decade.

Yet, everybody who has seen Sasaki pitch seems certain that he's the next Japanese player to become a major superstar in MLB.

It's important to note that Sasaki hasn't been posted by his NPB team yet, and therefore isn't guaranteed to be available this offseason. As Nightengale notes, "It remains unknown whether Sasaki will leave Japan this winter or wait one more year."

Yet, Sasaki's future in MLB seems like a matter of when, not if. And when he does become available, the Mets could be one of the teams that are keen to secure him.

Perhaps Sasaki can even become New York's next deGrom. Or better.

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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.

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