Roki Sasaki will not come to New York.
According to the paper's Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, the Mets were also informed late Monday that they would not be signing Sasaki, after learning the Yankees had excluded him from the sweepstakes.
The Mets met with Sasaki last month in the first known meeting between a Japanese pitcher and an MLB team, before President of Baseball Operations David Stearns traveled to Japan to keep an eye on Sasaki in September.
Stearns said during winter meetings that the Mets intend to use their “best bet” to acquire Sasaki.
Sasaki, 23, also met with the Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, Cubs, Rangers and Giants.
Giants GM Zach Minassian also said Monday that he was informed that Sasaki would not be signed, according to multiple reports.
Sasaki admired Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, and it had long been speculated that he would join the Dodgers to play with compatriots Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
