Yankees Set to Meet With Star Pitcher Roki Sasaki

The New York Yankees have scheduled an in-person meeting with Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki.

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

After signing Max Fried and trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger, the New York Yankees have set their sights on arguably the best pitcher available in free agency.

According to MLB insider Bryan Hoch, the Yankees have officially scheduled an in-person meeting with Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki. New York joins a large group of other teams linked to Sasaki including the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets.

The Yankees are scheduled to have an in-person meeting with Roki Sasaki, Brian Cashman said.

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) December 18, 2024

Sasaki, 23, is coming off his fourth season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. In 69 NPB games, the hard-throwing righty has posted a 30-15 record with an impressive 2.10 ERA and 0.894 WHIP; he’s also ceded just 15 home runs while amassing a K/BB ratio of 505/88. Sasaki additionally pitched for Japan's 2023 World Baseball Classic winning team, a squad that included Los Angeles Dodger teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Speaking at the Yankees’ press conference for Max Fried’s signing, general manager Brian Cashman had high praise for Sasaki.

“(Sasaki) has a chance to be one of the world’s great pitchers. It would be nice to have Yankee Stadium as his home.”

Sasaki has stated that he intends to spend the holidays in Japan before heading stateside to meet with MLB teams. It is expected that he will sign with a team before his negotiating window closes between January 15th to the 23rd.

Should the Yankees sign Sasaki, it is believed they would deploy a six-man rotation to ease him into the longer MLB season; in addition to the 23-year-old having never pitched more than 129.1 innings in a season, NPB teams typically use a six-man rotation and only play 143 games each year compared to 162 in MLB. Nonetheless, adding Sasaki to a rotation that already boasts Gerrit Cole, the newly signed Max Fried, and the reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil would give the Yankees one of the strongest rotations in baseball.