Red Sox Given Surprising Rōki Sasaki Update, Per MLB Insider

Will the Red Sox find a way to bring the young phenom to town?

Apr 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Red Sox logo and a field bag during batting practice before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have added two top-tier starting pitchers this offseason and have hinted that they may be open to one more in the right move.

Boston's starting rotation could be among the best in baseball after adding Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet into the mix to pair with Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, and Kutter Crawford.

The Red Sox isn't far away from contending in the American League but there still is work to do this offseason. Boston's top priority certainly should be adding some right-handed pop to the lineup, but there is another star out there who could make the team change their plans.

Former Chiba Lotte Marines 23-year-old phenom Rōki Sasaki still is available. He's going to be extremely cheap for years due to his age but he could be a team's No. 1 starter as soon as 2025. It's no surprise that Boston has shown interest in him despite seemingly having a full rotation. He's the type of guy you bring in and figure out the other moves afterward.

A signing hasn't seemed likely by any means because any team realistically could make sense for him due to the price, but Boston hasn't gotten a meeting with him yet according to various reports. While this is the case, WEEI's Rob Bradford reported that Boston hasn't been told it is out of the sweepstakes yet.

"Per source, Red Sox haven’t been told they are out of Rōki Sasaki mix," Bradford said.

This is somewhat surprising as Boston wasn't one of the teams that had a sit-down meeting with him. But, it's positive nonetheless.

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