New York Yankees Met With International Free Agent Roki Sasaki

The Yankees met with star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki on Thursday, the same day he met with the cross-town rival New York Mets.

Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

For the second time this offseason, the New York Yankees and New York Mets are squaring off over a free-agent superstar.

Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki is a highly sought-after commodity this winter. The 23-year-old ace from the NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines announced that he intends to sign with an MLB team for the 2025 season once he was posted earlier this month. Sasaki is coming off his fourth season with the Marines and posted a 10-5 record with a dazzling 2.35 ERA, 1.036 WHIP, and a 129/32 K/BB ratio. 

It was well-documented that the Mets were the first MLB team to meet with Sasaki on Thursday. The Yankees’ cross-town rivals have been looking to bolster their rotation after signing former Yankee superstar outfielder Juan Soto earlier this month. President of baseball operations David Stearns even travelled to Japan to watch Sasaki live in September. 

On Friday, it was revealed that the Yankees had managed to secure a meeting with Sasaki in Los Angeles on the same day as the Mets, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman, who also traveled with scouts to Japan to watch Sasaki earlier in the season, had provided a virtual presentation for Sasaki which helped them get the in-person meeting in California. Sasaki was also known to have an in-person meeting with the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

The Yankees have a couple of advantages over other teams when it comes to the Sasaki sweepstakes. According to his agent, Sasaki is keen on signing with an MLB team that has a good history with Japanese players, overall success, and a good history with developing pitchers. The Yankees have had plenty of success and are well represented by Japanese baseball royalty like Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, and Sasaki’s favorite pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka. 

However, the Yankees are facing tough competition from the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sasaki has a close relationship with Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish as well as his 2023 World Baseball Classic teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Unlike previous Japanese players, Sasaki has not stated that he has a preference to play on the West Coast. 

Sasaki is under the age of 25 and is therefore considered an international amateur which means his contract would be significantly lower than other Japanese imports. He is only able to sign a minor league deal and cannot discuss a multi-year contract or extension upon negotiating his initial deal.

It is believed that following his meetings with MLB teams, Sasaki will head back to Japan to weigh his options. Sasaki is not able to sign with a team until January 15th with his negotiating window closing on January 23rd.