Mets Meet With Star Pitcher Roki Sasaki

The Mets revealed that their meeting with star pitcher Roki Sasaki took place.

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

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are underway - and the New York Mets have made their move.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets and Sasaki completed a meeting on Thursday. The Mets, who have already signed free agent pitchers Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and Griffin Canning, are one of many teams linked to the electric Japanese righty, and are among the favorites to land him.

The Mets Met today with free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki, league sources say.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 19, 2024

Sasaki, who has been posted after pitching four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), has a 45-day negotiation window and has between January 15 to January 23 to make a decision.

The 23-year-old has possibly the highest ceiling of any free agent pitcher in years, thanks to his ability to control pitches with blazing velocity and cartoon-like movement; over his four years overseas, Sasaki accumulated a 30-15 record with a 2.02 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 11.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, and a mere 15 homers allowed. Perhaps the greatest of his many amazing feats is his unfathomable streak of 17 perfect innings, which saw him pitch a 19-strikeout perfect game on April 10, 2022, and immediately follow with eight perfect innings in his next start.

What makes Sasaki even more of an asset is his affordability; due to not reaching the thresholds of 25 years of age and six years of experience, the righty is limited to signing a minor league deal, while the Chiba Lotte Marines will receive a significantly smaller posting fee as compensation. Although this theoretically makes him available to every major league team, this allows the Mets to potentially sign him to a bargain deal even after handing Juan Soto a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract in the same offseason.

The Mets are in need of a bona-fide ace, as the combination of Montas/Holmes/Canning isn't exactly proven, while regular staff ace Kodai Senga made only one regular season start in 2024 due to a rash of injuries. Successfully landing Sasaki would give New York a blossoming top-of-the-rotation arm at just a fraction of the cost, and could possibly put them right next to the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team to beat in the National League.