{"id":22450,"date":"2024-12-31T06:43:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T06:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22450"},"modified":"2024-12-31T06:43:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T06:43:21","slug":"mets-yankees-target-roki-sasakis-agent-market-size-isnt-a-factor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=22450","title":{"rendered":"Mets, Yankees target Roki Sasaki\u2019s agent: ‘Market size isn\u2019t a factor’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sasaki may still meet with one or two more teams and visit MLB cities<\/h2>\n
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When\u00a0Joel Wolfe<\/strong>, the agent for\u00a0free agent pitcher\u00a0Roki Sasaki<\/strong>, spoke to reporters in Dallas earlier this month during the MLB Winter Meetings, he had not yet learned Sasaki\u2019s preferences — including whether the pitcher wants to play in a large market like New York.<\/p>\n

In fact, Wolfe speculated that Sasaki might prefer a quieter city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s an argument to be made that a small- or mid-market team might be more beneficial for him, as a soft landing, coming from Japan and what he\u2019s been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the media \u2014 it might be,\u201d Wolfe\u00a0said on Dec. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying it will be, but I don\u2019t know how he\u2019s going to do it. It might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market, but I really don\u2019t know how he looks at it yet because I haven\u2019t had a chance and discuss it with him [at great length].\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that Wolfe has spent time with Sasaki, he has a more specific answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarket size isn\u2019t a factor either way,\u201d Wolfe said on Monday evening in a text message to SNY, following a 20-minute Zoom call with media. (Wolfe and SNY were texting because a certain tech-challenged SNY reporter could not get the chat function to work during the call.)<\/p>\n

Both the\u00a0Mets\u00a0and\u00a0Yankees\u00a0were granted in-person meetings with Sasaki after the winter meetings.<\/p>\n

The goal of Wolfe\u2019s Monday Zoom call was not to break major news about Sasaki but to provide incremental updates.<\/p>\n

Wolfe shared that:<\/p>\n