Why Detroit Tigers Could Be Mystery Team Who Met With Japanese Pitching Star
The Detroit Tigers entered the offseason with fans hopeful they could make a big splash whether it be in the starting rotation or to one of the needs in the field and lineup.
Thus far, that hope has not panned into anything extremely significant outside of the signings of veteran right-handed starter Alex Cobb and former New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres, both on one-year contracts.
Outside of the somewhat slim possibilities of someone like an Alex Bregman or an Anthony Santander, the earth-shattering move may not be there for the Tigers this offseason.
But one player who Detroit has been seen as having an outside shot to land is the top available free agent in Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki.
The 23-year-old righty had a larger market than someone of his status may usually have due to his young age and cap on what he can receive as an international amateur.
Rather than signing on a $300 million-plus megadeal like fellow countrymen Yoshinobu Yamamoto got from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, Sasaki has an even playing field vying for his services, but favorites have emerged.
The Dodgers and Yankees along with the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and Texas Rangers are teams who reports confirmed have gotten an in-person meeting with Sasaki.
But on Tuesday, Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reported the phenom has spoken with "at least" one other team beyond the list of confirmations, leaving everybody to guess who it could be.
Obviously in a world where money was a factor, the Tigers were never going to be players in the Sasaki sweepstakes. But with every team on the same footing, Detroit actually makes a ton of sense for the future superstar.
For one, reports early on in the process emerged saying Sasaki could actually prefer a smaller market team with elite development in order to eliminate distractions and put himself in the best possible situation to reach his maximum potential.
The Tigers fit the bill here.
Baseball America's Coach of the Year, pitching coach Chris Fetter, was able to add to his resume not only a unanimous Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, but guiding him towards becoming one of the best on the entire planet.
Sasaki pairing up at the top of the rotation with Skubal would make for an absolutely lethal combination, and one that would have the potential to win a ton of games and potentially even push for a championship.
At this point, it's not known whether or not Detroit has secured an in-person meeting with Sasaki, but on paper, he would be a tremendous fit.
The sales pitch is obvious and should be enticing to Sasaki, and he has yet to make a decision.
Sure, it would be a shock to see him end up in the Motor City, but why wouldn't the Tigers at least be the mystery team here and potentially pull off the most shocking move of the winter.
