Roki Sasaki is narrowing down his options, which is bad news for both local teams.
The Yankees and Mets have each been told they will not sign the 23-year-old Japanese right-hander, the Post confirmed.
The three remaining teams on Sasaki's list are the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays, the Post's Jon Heyman confirmed.
Sasaki attracted a lot of attention throughout last season even before he was appointed. Other teams he ruled out from consideration include the Cubs, Rangers and Giants.
All of this comes ahead of the international free agent signing period, which begins Wednesday.
Many around the league believed that the Yankees and Mets were much more promising for Sasaki, who became a star player in Japan and was transferred from his former team, Nippon Professional Baseball's Chiba Lotte Marines, before the start of the winter meetings. Ta.
Sasaki, a hard-throwing pitcher, is classified by MLB as an international amateur because he has not yet reached the age of 25, which limits each team to the international bonus pool they can offer him (typically around $6 million). , this situation is very similar to Shohei Ohtani's situation. He was traded to the Angels in 2018.
Sasaki admired San Diego's Yu Darvish when he was younger, and there's a chance he could join Los Angeles' rotation this season, which also includes Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with the Dodgers and Padres keeping Sasaki in the mix for much of the process. He has been seen as a winning candidate.
“He's obviously a tremendous talent,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of Sasaki last month. “It would be great for Yankee Stadium to be his home, but the decision is up to him. All we can do is share everything we can about ourselves and what we offer.”
However, as was the case with Ohtani and Yamamoto, who signed the richest 12-year, $325 million contract given to a pitcher in MLB history a year earlier, the Yankees were unable to acquire Sasaki.
Without Sasaki, the Yankees have a rotation of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt, and Luis Gil, as well as Marcus Stroman, who is owed $18 million this season and could be transferred. will be appointed.
Like Cashman, Mets director of baseball operations David Stearns traveled to Japan to meet with Sasaki during the season and said last month that the team would use its “best efforts” to acquire Sasaki.
Instead, they'll move forward with a rotation that includes Kouhiro Chiga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson, with potential sixth spots including Paul Blackburn, Tyler Megill, and Griffin. Canning, among others.
If Sasaki doesn't cash in on the international contract pool, the Yankees could turn to Manny Cedeno, a 16-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic who has been rumored for a deal, while the Mets could pursue 17-year-old Elian Pena. It will be worth paying attention to. The shortstop from the Dominican Republic could earn up to $5 million.
The next team to scout Japan could be corner infielder Munetaka Murakami, who has publicly stated that 2025 will be his final season in NPB.
He turns 25 next month, so whenever Murakami comes to the majors, he'll be a true free agent.
