{"id":19487,"date":"2024-12-20T08:40:28","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19487"},"modified":"2024-12-20T08:40:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:40:28","slug":"breaking-mets-held-a-meeting-with-roki-sasaki-on-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19487","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Mets held a meeting with Roki Sasaki on Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sasaki is one of the most talented pitchers on the planet<\/h2>\n

\"Roki<\/p>\n

\n

A day after the Yankees revealed they had plans for an in-person meeting with Sasaki, the Mets held a meeting with the right-hander on Thursday,\u00a0SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reported.<\/p>\n

The in-person meeting took place in Los Angeles, according to The New York Post, making the Mets the first known team to hold such a visit with the free agent.<\/p>\n

The signing window opened for the Japanese star nine days ago and closes on Jan. 23, and it appears likely he will not decide until after the New Year and can’t sign until Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

Sasaki can only be signed using a team’s international bonus pool money, which ranges from around $5 million to $7.5 million. The Mets and Yankees have the same amount (a shade under $6.3 million), but fit and other factors appear to be a bigger factor for the 23-year-old. This is good news for New York, as they have verbally committed around\u00a0$5 million to 17-year-old shortstop prospect\u00a0Elian Pe\u00f1a<\/strong>. The Mets can add more money in a trade.<\/p>\n

Dec. 18, 1:54 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Yankees have an in-person meeting scheduled with Sasaki, GM\u00a0Brian Cashman<\/strong>\u00a0told reporters.<\/p>\n

Sasaki is expected to spend the holidays in Japan before returning to the United States ahead of choosing a team.<\/p>\n

He will sign between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23, when his negotiating window closes.<\/p>\n

If the Yanks land Sasaki, it stands to reason that they will utilize a six-man rotation.<\/p>\n

New York’s current rotation consists of\u00a0Gerrit Cole<\/strong>,\u00a0Max Fried<\/strong>,\u00a0Carlos Rodon<\/strong>,\u00a0Luis Gil<\/strong>, and\u00a0Clarke Schmidt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dec. 12, 4:53 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mets president of baseball operations\u00a0David Stearns<\/strong>\u00a0said the club has prepared a presentation to pitch to Sasaki.<\/p>\n

“What I can comment on is he\u2019s a really talented pitcher. Whoever gets him is going to have a very talented young pitcher going forward,” Stearns said. “We\u2019re certainly going to give it our best shot. It\u2019s very difficult in these processes to truly understand what a player\u2019s preference is. This isn\u2019t a normal free agent recruitment process. So, we\u2019re going to submit our presentations and our materials just like everybody else and we\u2019ll wait for his camp\u2019s feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about Sasaki potentially not wanting to be in a market like New York, Stearns said “We have not gotten that feedback yet.”<\/p>\n

“We highlight a variety of different things,” Stearns said of the club\u2019s planned presentation to Sasaki. “The first is who we are as an organization, what we believe in, what we think maybe makes us a little bit unique compared to other teams he might be considering. We highlight the various services we can provide for a player. We highlight our familiarity with transitioning a Japanese starter to the major league schedule. We highlight our pitching apparatus, our health apparatus, our nutrition apparatus. We want him to know that we have the resources and we have the ability to make this transition as smooth as possible.”<\/p>\n

Dec. 10, 12:03 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mets and Padres are viewed as the “early favorites” for Sasaki,\u00a0reports Jim Bowden of The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Per Bowden, the three things that could influence Sasaki\u2019s decision are his ability to land endorsements, his desire to win, and wanting to join a club that has a focus on pitching development.<\/p>\n

The Mets can offer all three of those things, and their pitching coach could end up being a determining factor in landing Sasaki.<\/p>\n

“I know that the Wasserman Group, who are representing him, are very high on\u00a0Jeremy Hefner<\/strong>, and that does have some influence here,” Bowden said.<\/p>\n

ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently noted\u00a0that the Mets are among a handful of teams who are expected to be significant players for Sasaki.<\/p>\n

Dec. 9, 10:47 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sasaki\u00a0will be coming to MLB for the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old flamethrower has been posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.<\/p>\n

His signing window opens on Dec. 10 and closes on Jan. 23.<\/p>\n

Both the\u00a0Mets\u00a0and\u00a0Yankees\u00a0have been linked to Sasaki. And while buzz has tied him to the Dodgers, recent reports have indicated that he could sign with Los Angeles is not close to a sure thing.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers, the Padres are viewed as one of the main threats in the Sasaki sweepstakes.<\/p>\n

Since Sasaki is being posted during the 2024-25 offseason and before his 25th birthday, he will be considered an international amateur free agent and can sign only a minor league contract. MLB rules do not allow players under 25 and with fewer than six professional seasons to sign anything but a minor league deal. His deal would count toward his signing team’s international bonus pool allotment.<\/p>\n

Sasaki had a 2.35 ERA, 129 strikeouts, and just 32 walks in 111 innings and 18 starts last season. However, he did miss some time due to a torn oblique and right arm soreness. Over four seasons in NPB, Sasaki had a 2.10 ERA, 505 strikeouts, and 88 walks in 64 starts over 394.2 innings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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