That’s according to some executives around the league who were recently surveyed by MLB.com writer and baseball prospects insider Jonathan Mayo. While some Cubs fans are fantasizing about free agent Corbin Burnes, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki remains the top, realistic pitching target this offseason and if you want to feel optimistic about the team’s chances of signing the right-hander, then you’ll absolutely love this latest update.

To be clear, I’m not trying to fool any Cubs fans here. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres remain the clear favorites to land Sasaki, who was officially posted by his Japanese team earlier in December. The 23-year-old starting pitcher won’t sign until Jan. 15, at the earliest. That date marks the start of the 2025 international free agent signing period. Sasaki must come to an agreement with his new team in MLB by Jan. 23, which represents the end of his 45-day posting period.

You can call the Cubs cheap all you want, but money will not be an issue in their pursuit of Sasaki.

Via MLB.com.

Because Sasaki is beholden to the rules of the international signing period and bonus pools, there is a more level playing field than for other free agent signings. It’s been made clear that the bonus Sasaki receives to sign will not be the determining factor. The most any team could theoretically offer is the just more than $7.5 million.

The Cubs have $6,261,600 in their IFA signing bonus pool.

MLB Pipeline polled front office members from all 30 MLB franchises and one of the biggest questions was where they thought Sasaki would sign this offseason. The Dodgers received 11 votes, while the Padres got 7. At this point it’s tough to count many teams out, but it was certainly interesting to see the following from Mayo in his article about Sasaki’s free agent journey.

Let’s not ignore teams not on the West Coast entirely. There are some who think the Cubs are serious players here, and after acquiring Kyle Tucker from the Astros, they clearly are thinking they can contend in the wide open NL Central. Plus they currently have Shota Imanaga in the rotation and Seiya Suzuki in the lineup.

Serious players for Sasaki??? OK!

Could you imagine pic.twitter.com/6481bro6hq

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) December 19, 2024

Personally, I still don’t think the Cubs are actually in on Sasaki and that has nothing to do with the team’s efforts in pursuing him. To me, it just seems like Sasaki is going to the Dodgers, but I would obviously love to be proven wrong here.

The Padres have picked up some steam in the past few weeks and that reminds me of how former Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish has already helped out the Cubs in their recruitment of a Japanese star. Remember, back when the Cubs were going after Seiya Suzuki, the Padres were in the mix as well and at one point it appeared as though San Diego was going to sign the outfielder.

Well, despite being traded by the Cubs to the Padres, Darvish still had glowing things to say about his time in Chicago and ultimately told Suzuki how much he’d love playing for the Cubs. Again, this despite Darvish being with the Padres and the Padres trying to also sign Suzuki.

Via The Athletic.

Suzuki listened as Darvish and his wife, Seiko, described their experiences in Chicago. The day games at Wrigley Field allowed for the rhythms of a normal job, having breakfast with the family in the morning and getting home in time for dinner. Darvish appreciated the support and patience from Cubs fans and Cubs staffers as he struggled with injuries during his first season in Chicago in 2018. Darvish gravitated toward the team’s Ivy technology and felt a sense of freedom on the mound, finishing second in the 2020 National League Cy Young Award voting.

Though the Padres also targeted Suzuki, Darvish shared his honest opinion about the Cubs: You’re going to love it.

Hey Yu, how about another good word about the Cubs for Roki?

The Cubs have reportedly submitted their initial presentation to Sasaki earlier in December. The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma first reported the news on Dec. 11.

The Cubs have already submitted their introductory presentation to Roki Sasaki’s representatives, hoping their credibility and connections with Japanese players help them land one of the most talented pitchers in the world.

The Cubs have been working on their recruiting pitch to Sasaki, league sources said, and the club is viewed as a viable contender for the Japanese pitcher at this preliminary stage. The process will be run by Joel Wolfe — the same Wasserman agent who represents Seiya Suzuki.

We know the Cubs are in the mix and looking at it in a vacuum, they should have a decent shot at Sasaki. We’ll be monitoring in-person meetings that will be taking place within the next month and hopefully the Cubs do get one of those invites. This week, the Yankees revealed that they have been granted a face-to-face meeting with the Japanese ace.

According to Jon Heyman, the New York Mets met with Sasaki on Thursday.