Baltimore Orioles Target Roki Sasaki Likely To Pick Between Dodgers, Padres

If the right-hander doesn't want to play on the East Coast, there might not be much for the Baltimore Orioles to do.

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

With the expectation of Corbin Burnes leaving the Baltimore Orioles in free agency, the front office has to have a plan.

Whether that plan is to trade for another ace-caliber arm, sign one of the other top starters on the market, or pursue Roki Sasaki heavily, the Orioles can't enter the 2025 campaign without a high-quality starter. 

Sasaki is the most intriguing name of the bunch. One could argue that he's the most valuable player on the market this winter, even if he hasn't thrown an inning in Major League Baseball. 

There are some concerns about guys coming over from Japan, but for the most part, many of the top players have played well in America. The hope is for Sasaki to do the same thing, but if there are growing pains, that wouldn't be surprising. 

Nonetheless, considering he can only sign for up to $7.5 million due to international rules, he'd be perfect for a team like Baltimore, a ball club that typically doesn't want to spend money. 

Unfortunately, according to Brian Murphy of MLB.com, it doesn't seem realistic that the Orioles will have a fair chance to sign him. Murphy named the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres the two teams executives around the league expect Sasaki to land with. 

"With dollars not a determining factor, you can't really rule out any team for Sasaki, who has an electric repertoire of pitches. The Yankees have been granted a meeting with him. The Mets reportedly met with him on Thursday. But team executives across the league believe there are two favorites to land the right-hander: the Dodgers and the Padres."

Sasaki is considered Major League ready right now. He throws a triple-digit fastball and, like his fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has an array of pitches. Yamamoto throws for the Dodgers, by the way.

Last year Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 32 walks in 111 innings. For his four-year career he is 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts against 88 walks in 394.2 innings.

Whoever lands him, he is automatically a candidate for the Opening Day roster.

There were always concerns about him wanting to stay on the West Coast, just like many of the other top Japanese players. 

Baltimore will have to sell him on its young talent, a chance to be an ace, and more. Whether that's enough to poach him out of the West Coast is uncertain, but it doesn't look too likely right now.