{"id":14443,"date":"2024-12-26T01:52:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T01:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=14443"},"modified":"2024-12-26T01:52:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T01:52:17","slug":"yankees-meet-with-japan-phenom-roki-sasaki-but-may-lose-out-to-innovative-mets-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=14443","title":{"rendered":"Yankees Meet With Japan Phenom Roki Sasaki But May Lose Out to \u2018Innovative\u2019 Mets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Yankees-Meet-Roki-Sasaki-Mets.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Roki Sasaki\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Roki Sasaki<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Since losing generational offensive force\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-mets\/juan-soto-signs-mets-official\/\">Juan Soto to the New York Mets<\/a>\u00a0and the historic, 15-year, $765 million contract the offered him, the New York Yankees have stayed busy. Not discouraged by losing out to their crosstown rival, the Yankees quickly signed lefthanded pitcher Max Fried, closer Devin Williams, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-yankees\/insider-links-yankees-belliger-trade\/\">traded for outfielder<\/a>\u00a0and first baseman Cody Bellinger.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees do not appear to be done upgrading the squad that went to the World Series last season, for the first time since 2009. According to recent reports, on December 19 they moved a step closer to acquiring their next pitching target when Yankees executives met with Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old righthanded starter from Japan whose\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/boston-red-sox\/red-sox-predicted-very-serious-bid-roki-sasaki\/\">fastball has been clocked<\/a>\u00a0at 102 mph.<\/p>\n<p>Sasaki has pitched four seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan\u2019s Pacific League. In 2024, he posted a 10-5 record, an outstanding 2.35 ERA, with a 1.036 WHIP, and a stellar strikeout to walk ratio of 129 to 32.<\/p>\n<h2>Sasaki Won\u2019t Make Decision Based on Future Money<\/h2>\n<p>But the Yankees quest to bring Sasaki to the Bronx has set up another offseason competition with the Mets, because the National League team from Flushing, Queens, held a meeting with Sasaki\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/yankees\/news\/new-york-yankees-met-with-international-free-agent-roki-sasaki-michael9\">on the same day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Due to his age which requires him to be classified as an international amateur despite having pitched professionally since 2021, after the Marines drafted him in 2019 with the overall Number One pick\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/english.kyodonews.net\/news\/2019\/07\/28515b453a55-baseball-prized-players-shot-at-high-school-glory-ends-on-bench.html\">out of Ofunato High School<\/a> in Iwate, a prefecture in northern Japan that is also home to Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n<p>His \u201camatuer\u201d status means that Sasaki is limited to an initial contract of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-yankees\/roki-sasaki-five-million\/\">about $5 million<\/a>. But Sasaki\u2019s agent has warned him not to make a decision on his destination based on the promise of riches down the road.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy advice to him is don\u2019t make a decision based on [the next contract] because the long-term arc of your career is where you\u2019re going to earn your money,\u201d agent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dodgerblue.com\/wasserman-agent-joel-wolfe-advice-roki-sasaki-signing-bonus-limit-first-mlb-contract\/2024\/12\/14\/\">Joel Wolfe told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cSo it\u2019s probably not advisable to make a short-term decision in that regard, to take all of the factors into consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If his decision is not going to be based on money, then perhaps the free-spending Mets do not have an advantage over the Yankees. But not so fast \u2014 according to Nayima Riyaz\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/mlb-baseball-news-despite-a-successful-roki-sasaki-meeting-one-surprising-disadvantage-risks-derailing-yankees-pursuit\/\">of\u00a0<em>Essentially Sports<\/em><\/a>, the Mets\u2019 real advantage may come from their \u201cinnovative\u201d approach to pitching.<\/p>\n<h2>Mets \u2018Innovative\u2019 Approach to Pitching Could Seal Sasaki Deal<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cUnder new president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets have built a reputation for innovation, particularly in pitching development,\u201d write Riyaz. \u201cTheir focus on analytics and cutting-edge training could appeal to Sasaki, who has expressed a desire to reach the pinnacle of the sport. If Sasaki prioritizes his development over legacy, the Yankees could find themselves outflanked by their cross-town rivals again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not surprisingly, the Yankees face other competition for Sasaki\u2019s services besides their fellow New York franchise. Sasaki is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardbarker.com\/mlb\/articles\/roki_sasaki_meetings_tracker_full_list_of_teams\/s1_17075_41463992\">reported to have already met<\/a> with officials from the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, and his is also \u201cbelieved\u201d according to media accounts, to have sat down with the San Francisco Giants as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees cam take some satisfaction, however, in knowing that their American League arch-rivals the Boston Red Sox have so far been denied a meeting with Sasaki, according\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/12\/24\/sports\/red-sox-roki-sasaki\/?event=event25\">to a\u00a0<em>Boston Globe<\/em>\u00a0report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said he is still holding out hope for the chance to make the Boston case to Sasaki.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve obviously been engaged and would welcome the opportunity to participate in the process,\u201d Breslow told the\u00a0<em>Globe<\/em>, \u201cand hope that we\u2019ll have the chance to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roki Sasaki Since losing generational offensive force\u00a0Juan Soto to the New York Mets\u00a0and the historic, 15-year, $765 million contract the offered him, the New York Yankees have&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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