Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Among Frontrunners to Land Roki Sasaki

The most recent Roki Sasaki update should have New York Yankees feeling content.

Grant Young

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
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
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It's no wonder why the New York Yankees have had their eyes on Roki Sasaki, given he's considered one of the most talented pitchers in baseball right now despite never having played in MLB.

The 23-year-old Japanese hurler was posted on December 10 and has until January 23 to decide which MLB team he wants to sign with. On paper, the Yankees seem to be a great fit for Sasaki; if only because of their history with Japanese players, unrivaled winning pedigree, and location. And Sasaki's team had asserted that these things (especially the winning pedigree) would be factors for the phenom.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal made a January 3 appearance on Foul Territory TV. And at one point, he got honest about the teams he currently deems frontrunners to sign Sasaki — of which the Yankees were included.

"As far as where we are now, yes there are teams that have been identified as the leaders, the ones that have met with Sasaki," Rosenthal said. "And then there are teams that seemingly want to get a place at the table and have been unable to... I don't know where this is going, I don't know where he is going to end up. Anyone who tells you otherwise is kidding themselves.

"But it certainly seems like the teams that we've heard mentioned — the Dodgers, the Mets, the Yankees, the Padres, the Rangers, and some others — those are the obvious front-runners based on simply the fact that they have met with Sasaki and other teams have not," he added.

There's still much to be decided among Sasaki and his team. But it seems that the Yankees have done just about everything they can to catch and keep his interest.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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