{"id":17263,"date":"2024-12-12T10:39:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T10:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=17263"},"modified":"2024-12-12T10:39:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T10:39:52","slug":"cubs-make-initial-pitch-to-sasaki-were-an-appealing-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=17263","title":{"rendered":"Cubs make initial pitch to Sasaki: ‘We’re an appealing destination’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DALLAS — The Cubs have worked hard to establish their ballclub as a serious contender to reel in star players who come to the Major Leagues from Japan. Chicago will hope its efforts on that front in recent years can\u00a0play a role in their pitch\u00a0to free agent\u00a0Roki Sasaki\u00a0this winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On the final day of the Winter Meetings on Wednesday, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made it known that his team has already submitted their initial presentation to Sasaki and his agent, Joel Wolfe. The Cubs have another Wolfe client, outfielder\u00a0Seiya Suzuki, in the fold, along with Japanese lefty\u00a0Shota Imanaga.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Shop for Cubs gear for the holidays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    \u201cSeiya and Shota have had really good experiences,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cI think we\u2019re an appealing destination for any Japanese player.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Wolfe held court with media at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas on Tuesday and laid out the upcoming schedule for Sasaki, who has been posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines and has a signing period that runs through Jan. 23. Wolfe said he had already received a handful of initial presentations and hoped to begin meetings with teams by next week.<\/p>\n

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    After Sasaki spends time back home in Japan over the holidays, Wolfe said he plans on meeting with the pitcher to discuss how to proceed. There would be in-person meetings with teams based on Sasaki\u2019s feedback and potentially trips to visit cities under consideration. One thing Wolfe made clear is that he is also still learning Sasaki\u2019s preferences in the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cHe does watch a lot of Major League Baseball,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cHe asks a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development, and just watching what other Japanese players in the Major Leagues are doing and how they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      The Cubs put together a detailed presentation for Suzuki and Wolfe ahead of the 2022 season, helping convince the outfielder to sign a five-year, $85 million contract with the team. He is now one of Chicago\u2019s top hitters.<\/p>\n

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      Last winter, Imanaga was won over by the Cubs and agreed to a four-year, $53 million pact. In his rookie season, the lefty was an All-Star, pitched in a combined no-hitter and finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said it is helpful to get insight from Suzuki and Imanaga from their experience in Chicago for pitching the ballclub to other players from Japan. That said, he does not expect the players to play a large part in the recruiting process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      \u201cThat\u2019s not their job, right?\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cWe certainly ask for input and want to get feedback on that, but it\u2019s not an area that we are trying to utilize them for more than a quick conversation on their opinion on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      Prior to Suzuki and Imanaga, the Cubs signed Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million deal in Major League free agency before the 2018 season. Darvish played a role in\u00a0selling Suzuki on playing for the Cubs, and the veteran pitcher is also a mentor for Sasaki.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      Wolfe was asked if it would be a priority for Sasaki to have at least one other Japanese player on his new team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      \u201cI think it could be [beneficial],\u201d Wolfe said, \u201cit could be, to have an older player to help him, show him the ropes. But anyone that knows Roki Sasaki, this is one of the most driven, intense players I’ve ever known and been around. Incredibly hard-working. I wouldn’t say that he would necessarily need it to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      The 23-year-old Sasaki will be part of the 2025 international signing class and will be under club control through at least 2030. As far as the international bonus pools, the Cubs sit in the third tier with $6,261,600. There are 14 teams above Chicago in terms of available pool money and Wolfe said Sasaki is open-minded to different market sizes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      Hoyer makes trips overseas each year to Japan to see players in person, along with scouts and other front-office members, and also to help strengthen the Cubs\u2019 place in that market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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      \u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ve emphasized over the last few years,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cI think that allows us to not only have conversations with players, but it allows players to understand who the Cubs are and it facilitates that initial conversation when a player does get posted or he does become a free agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      DALLAS — The Cubs have worked hard to establish their ballclub as a serious contender to reel in star players who come to the Major Leagues from… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nCubs make initial pitch to Sasaki: 'We're an appealing destination' - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=17263\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs make initial pitch to Sasaki: 'We're an appealing destination' - 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