Pink Sox are reportedly ‘very severe’ about pursuing Roki Sasaki 

The Pink Sox have already bolstered their beginning rotation this offseason by buying and selling for Chicago White Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet. 

However might Boston even be within the operating for one of many high younger pitchers in baseball in Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki?

The 22-year-old righty was posted by his Japanese crew, the Chiba Lotte Marines, earlier this month — making him free to signal with an MLB membership this winter. 

Regardless that ESPN’s Jeff Passan famous weeks in the past that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the frontrunners for Sasaki’s companies, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reported Wednesday that the Pink Sox may take advantage of sizable push amongst suitors on the East Coast. 

“Within the AL, the Pink Sox are very severe about making a pitch to the Sasaki crew,” Mayo wrote. “The primary promoting level is likely to be the historical past of Japanese pitchers having success and optimistic experiences taking part in in Boston: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Uehara and Junichi Tazawa. 

“They’ve a formidable pitching improvement program and it definitely doesn’t damage when the final supervisor, Craig Breslow, can converse on to it (versus simply handing it off to “the specialists”). Breslow additionally personally scouted Sasaki for one in every of his begins in Japan in September.”

Not solely does Sasaki’s pitch combine and velocity already make him a authentic ace candidate at baseball’s highest stage, however he’d even be obtainable at a fraction of what free-agent targets like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell will command. 

As a result of Sasaki is an “worldwide beginner” fairly than an unrestricted free agent, whichever crew finally indicators him will ink him to a less expensive, minor-league deal sweetened with a signing bonus.

For instance, Shohei Ohtani signed a minor-league take care of the Angels in December 2017 that featured a cost-controlled construction together with a $2.3 million signing bonus. Throughout Ohtani’s six seasons with the Angels, he commanded salaries of $545,000, $650,000, $259,259 (as a result of COVID), $3 million, $5.5 million and $30 million.

However even Mayo famous that the Pink Sox usually are not thought of frontrunners for Sasaki. In a ballot involving executives for all 30 MLB groups, 11 groups tabbed the Dodgers because the franchise that can signal Sasaki, whereas seven others chosen the San Diego Padres. 

Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA final season in Japan, putting out 129 whereas strolling 32 over 111 innings of labor. Over his 4 seasons in NPB, Sasaki is 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts over 394.2 innings. 

 

Conor Ryan is a workers author overlaying the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Pink Sox for Boston.com, a task he has held since 2023.