Red Sox Still Eyeing 23-Year-Old Phenom Despite Walker Buehler Deal

It sounds like the Red Sox could be interested in one more starter

Jun 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bucket of baseballs sits on the grass before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have made two massive additions to the starting rotation already.

Boston has been active on the starting pitching front and already has gone out and landed Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler. Could they add another piece, though? It would be an absolute shock to see the Red Sox go out and sign someone like Corbin Burnes or Jack Flaherty. But Rōki Sasaki is a different story.

He is a 23-year-old phenom and was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines. There’s a real chance he could be a team’s No. 1 starter as soon as 2025. Plus, because of his age, he’s not going to get much on the open market because he can only be signed with a team’s international bonus pool funds.

A move certainly shouldn’t be considered likely at this point. Boston hasn’t had a meeting with him, but still is open to one, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

“Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old Japanese right-hander, has either held or scheduled meetings with a handful of teams,” Speier said. “For now, however, the Red Sox continue to wait to hear whether they’ll get the opportunity to meet with the coveted starter.

“Right now, we do not [have a meeting scheduled]. But, I don’t know that there’s any finality to that,” said Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “We’ve obviously been engaged and would welcome the opportunity to participate in the process, and hope that we’ll have the chance to do that.”

Boston’s rotation already is better than it was, but adding Sasaki would be a dream. The Red Sox still should do everything possible to at least get a meeting even with Crochet and Buehler in the mix

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