Philadelphia Phillies Listed as Potential Landing Spot for Roki Sasaki Once Again

The Philadelphia Phillies were recently listed as a potential landing spot for Roki Sasaski.

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

The Philadelphia Phillies have been somewhat quiet so far this offseason, as the team has yet to really shake things up. 

After a loss to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series, the Phillies were expected to make some big changes, yet that hasn't happened. 

Players like Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, and Ranger Suarez have all been mentioned in trade rumors.

Furthermore, Philadelphia had been linked to players like Devin Williams, Garrett Crochet, and Kyle Tucker before they were all traded elsewhere. 

While things can change quickly during the offseason, the Phillies certainly have some work to do if they want to keep up with the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL. 

One of their more pressing needs will be to find a starting pitcher to replace Taijuan Walker in the rotation.

Due to him having one of the worst contracts in baseball after his dreadful 2024 campaign, Philadelphia would likely want to add someone on the cheaper end. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report was the most recent person who listed the Phillies as a potential landing spot for Japanese ace, Roki Saski.

“Following their aggressive pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto last winter, the Phillies are another team on [Jim] Bowden's list of clubs in the mix for Sasaki. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has even come right out as said he's 'very interested' in the righty. The Phillies can hope to sell Sasaki on their recent track record, but it could complicate things that even they know said track record isn't as good as it should be. This is a transitionary sort of offseason that could involve additions and subtractions.”

He should have nearly every team in baseball after him since he is a very appealing pitcher coming over from Japan at an international free agent.

At just 23 years old, he is far from a finished product, and his desire is to go to a team that can win, develop pitchers, and provide him with a big market. 

Philadelphia checks all of those boxes, as pitchers like Suarez and Cristropher Sanchez have recently developed into good pitchers from their farm system. 

Where it gets tricky is how much of a contender the Phillies are.

When compared to the Dodgers, who will also be in on young right-hander, it is going to be a tough sell for Philadelphia.

With the money basically being the same wherever he goes, going to play with Shohei Ohtani on the team that just won the World Series will certainly be very appealing.