Report: Giants expected to be significant players’ for Sasaki originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Giants made a splash signing on Saturday, but could another monumental move be on the horizon for San Francisco?
Coveted free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki, a superstar in Japan’s Nippon Proffesional Baseball league, is expected to be posted during the upcoming MLB Winter Meetings, ESPN’s Jeff Pasan reported Saturday, citing sources.
While teams will be lining up attempting to secure the flamethrowing right-hander’s services, the Giants are among a handful of clubs expected to be “significant players” for Sasaki, Passan reported Saturday.
However, San Francisco isn’t the only NL-West ballclub in pursuit of the superstar pitcher, as Passan listed the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres as serious suitors for Sasaki.
The other “significant players” for Sasaki mentioned by Passan are the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.
Teams vying for Sasaki will have 45 days to convince the star pitcher to join their team once he is posted by his current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines. Because Sasaki is only 23 years old, he only is eligible to sign as an international amateur which comes with a financial cap, rather than breaking the open marked which he likely would in a normal free agency.
Sasaki is coming off a sensational 2024 season for the Marines, posting a 10-5 record with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings pitched.
After shoring up the lineup with the reported addition of Adames, could the Giants turn toward its pitching staff and supplument a rotation headlined by perennial Cy Young Award candidate Logan Webb?
Will Sasaki want to join Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers? Or will he relish in the opportunity to compete against them, and welcome the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park as his new home?
Time will tell …
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