Article: Red Sox Swing and Miss in Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes

[Amrit Brown]

The sensational starter's snub says something sad about the state of the Sox.

Every team in baseball should have been bending over backward to sign Roki Sasaki, the sensational 23-year-old Japanese pitcher who entered the posting system from NPB to MLB. In order to play in America before reaching nine years of professional experience, Sasaki decided to enter the league on a standard rookie contract, so all he'll cost the team that lands him is their allotment of international bonus pool money. According to Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, 20 teams made presentations to Sasaki's team, and Sasaki elected to meet with seven of them: the Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Padres, Rangers, and Yankees. The Red Sox didn't make the cut. Wolfe, has not eliminated the possibility of Sasaki meeting with additional teams in person, but it seems clear that the Red Sox are out.

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, "The Red Sox put together a slick multi-layered proposal for Sasaki that focused on his future development, biomechanics, and the team’s young core of talent." The team’s inability to earn a meeting with Sasaki is ultimately a reflection of the struggles the organization has faced in the past three years. The Red Sox have more international free-agent bonus pool money available than all seven of the contenders. This should have been an advantage, albeit a small one, as money clearly isn't Sasaki's main motivator. The Red Sox can't blame it all on geography either, as the lucky seven aren't limited to the West Coast. That said, the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants are considered the frontrunners.

Signing the 23-year-old righty would have been a coup, but it also would have been interesting from a roster-construction perspective, considering the depth of the pitching staff. The team is already contemplating a six-man rotation, a serious concern for Sasaki, who threw just 111 innings in 2024 and whose career-high is a scant 129 1/3. It's still unclear who exactly will start the season in the rotation and who will start in the bullpen. Lucas Giolito and Patrick Sandoval are returning from injury, and Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler will likely have their workloads limited. But regardless of the details, signing Sasaki would have improved the team in a major way and stood as a testament to the its ability to attract free agents.

The 6-foot-3 Sasaki has attracted the attention of MLB teams since he was a high schooler with a 100-mph fastball. The Chiba Lotte Marines selected him first overall in the NPB draft, and he has run a career 2.10 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP while striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings. Sasaki's bread and butter is a splitter that produced an absurd 57% whiff rate in 2024. For context, during the 2024 MLB season, there were 1,724 different pitches that got thrown in at least 30 plate appearances. Only two of them ran a higher whiff rate than Sasaki's splitter: Josh Hader's slider (60.2%) and Fernando Cruz's splitter (59.3%). Sasaki's fastball averaged just under 97 mph in 2024, down a couple ticks from 2023, but it's still a formidable weapon, and his slider also grades out as above-average.

It would be reasonable to view Boston's offseason as a success. The team acquired a legitimate ace in Crochet and signed bounce-back candidates in Buehler and Sandoval. However, the team has yet to make the big splash in free agency that it has been promising since the previous offseason. It's possible that Sasaki's camp noticed that the team has only handed out one multi-year deal, which went to Sandoval, who will miss much of its first season. One solution to the problem could simply be winning. In the past, the Sox were an ideal landing spot for free agents who wanted to win. A successful season from the Sox in 2025 could restore that reputation and help land big names in the future.

Sasaki's signing window runs from January 15 to 23, not that it should matter too much to Red Sox fans (unless he signs with the Yankees). 

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[Bellhorn04]

Just getting what they deserve for their sustained stretch of penny-pinching and mediocrity.

[Hugh2]

6 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Just getting what they deserve for their sustained stretch of penny-pinching and mediocrity.

I doubt that's it, I'm sure their penny pinching has hurt them in other areas but this isn't about the money. 

If anything, the way they've treated Yoshida probably had more of an impact if any. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Amrit Brown said:

According to Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, 20 teams made presentations to Sasaki's team, and Sasaki elected to meet with seven of them: the Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Padres, Rangers, and Yankees. The Red Sox didn't make the cut. Wolfe, has not eliminated the possibility of Sasaki meeting with additional teams in person, but it seems clear that the Red Sox are out.

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, "The Red Sox put together a slick multi-layered proposal for Sasaki that focused on his future development, biomechanics, and the team’s young core of talent." The team’s inability to earn a meeting with Sasaki is ultimately a reflection of the struggles the organization has faced in the past three years. The Red Sox have more international free-agent bonus pool money available than all seven of the contenders. This should have been an advantage, albeit a small one, as money clearly isn't Sasaki's main motivator. The Red Sox can't blame it all on geography either, as the lucky seven aren't limited to the West Coast. That said, the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants are considered the frontrunners.

 

The Giants have had 3 more regular season wins than the Sox over the past three years. This has nothing to do with "the struggles the org has faced the past three years." It has everything to do with Sasaki wanting to play in CA. 

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I doubt that's it, I'm sure their penny pinching has hurt them in other areas but this isn't about the money. 

If anything, the way they've treated Yoshida probably had more of an impact if any. 

The penny pinching is something that would worry a guy like Sasaki, in terms of feeling how committed a team is to winning.

[Bellhorn04]

36 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The Giants have had 3 more regular season wins than the Sox over the past three years. This has nothing to do with "the struggles the org has faced the past three years." It has everything to do with Sasaki wanting to play in CA. 

Yanks, Mets and Cubs get meetings though.

[Hugh2]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The penny pinching is something that would worry a guy like Sasaki, in terms of feeling how committed a team is to winning.

Sasaki has specifically said that he would consider a small market team,

[Duran Is The Man]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

I doubt that's it, I'm sure their penny pinching has hurt them in other areas but this isn't about the money. 

If anything, the way they've treated Yoshida probably had more of an impact if any. 

how they've treated Yoshida. really? they seriously overpaid the guy, but they can't help it if he sucks in the field and at running and in hitting for power. that's on him. they've done everything possible to let him prove he belongs in the big leagues.

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Sasaki has specifically said that he would consider a small market team,

He may have said that, but the list of 7 teams he's meeting with kind of says otherwise.

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

how they've treated Yoshida. really? they seriously overpaid the guy, but they can't help it if he sucks in the field and at running and in hitting for power. that's on him. they've done everything possible to let him prove he belongs in the big leagues.

Don't shoot the messenger. 

[Hugh2]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/wolfe-market-size-isnt-a-factor-in-sasakis-decision.html

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

how they've treated Yoshida. really? they seriously overpaid the guy, but they can't help it if he sucks in the field and at running and in hitting for power. that's on him. they've done everything possible to let him prove he belongs in the big leagues.

Well said, and agree 100%. Yoshida probably doesn’t like just to DH, but the OF is full of players better than him, which wasn’t the case when Bloom swooped in, and blew the competition away, and overpaid to sign him.

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

He may have said that, but the list of 7 teams he's meeting with kind of says otherwise.

And yet a few of those teams were worse than us last year, and it's not like we've become a bottom 5 in spending.  A LOW in spending in Boston was middle of the pack. 

 

I get that Sasaki probably isn't coming here but this self-deprecating speak towards our team is just starting to sound more cynical than logical. 

[Hugh2]

I don't think it would happen but I would find it hilarious if Sasaki signed here. 

I think he ends up with a surprise team.  Everyone is saying LAD, I think it's going to be someone like the Padres, Angels, or Mariners.  Probably a west coast team. 

[Hitch]

12 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I don't think it would happen but I would find it hilarious if Sasaki signed here. 

I think he ends up with a surprise team.  Everyone is saying LAD, I think it's going to be someone like the Padres, Angels, or Mariners.  Probably a west coast team. 

I think it is 10000% Dodgers. 

[Hugh2]

1 minute ago, Hitch said:

I think it is 10000% Dodgers. 

Impossible.  Only 100% is possible. 

[Zippo102]

17 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

And yet a few of those teams were worse than us last year, and it's not like we've become a bottom 5 in spending.  A LOW in spending in Boston was middle of the pack. 

 

I get that Sasaki probably isn't coming here but this self-deprecating speak towards our team is just starting to sound more cynical than logical. 

We may not be bottom 5 in spending but we are botton five in spending, but we are bottom five in percentage of the teams revenue spent on payroll.

[Hitch]

5 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Impossible.  Only 100% is possible. 

Dodgers are deferring two 0's to another deal.

[Hugh2]

19 minutes ago, Zippo102 said:

We may not be bottom 5 in spending but we are botton five in spending, but we are bottom five in percentage of the teams revenue spent on payroll.

A.) for what period of time?

 

B.) do people seriously think this is going to influence Sasaki decision? And that’s why he isn’t signing here?

[Bellhorn04]

46 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I don't think it would happen but I would find it hilarious if Sasaki signed here. 

I think he ends up with a surprise team.  Everyone is saying LAD, I think it's going to be someone like the Padres, Angels, or Mariners.  Probably a west coast team. 

Padres, sure.  But it's going to be one of the 7 teams he picked to meet with.  Angels and Mariners are not among them.

[Bellhorn04]

9 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

A.) for what period of time?

 

B.) do people seriously think this is going to influence Sasaki decision? And that’s why he isn’t signing here?

It's no secret that Japanese players prefer the West Coast.  But you can see who the other 4 teams are.

The Sox have lost some prestige and credibility as one of the high power teams, it's just the way it is. 

[Hugh2]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Padres, sure.  But it's going to be one of the 7 teams he picked to meet with.  Angels and Mariners are not among them.

It’s also been reported he’s met with more teams than the ones reported

[Bellhorn04]

7 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

It’s also been reported he’s met with more teams than the ones reported

Not being snarky, but does anyone know who the other teams are?

[moonslav59]

To be honest, I know we have zero chance, so as long as the Yanks don't get him, I don't really care.

It would be nice, if players started wanting to play for the Sox, again.

I think we still are held in high regard by some Latin American nations, but I'm not even sure that is true anymore.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

He may have said that, but the list of 7 teams he's meeting with kind of says otherwise.

San Diego is a small market IMO. 

[Zippo102]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

A.) for what period of time?

 

B.) do people seriously think this is going to influence Sasaki decision? And that’s why he isn’t signing here?

Who knows what he is thinking and don't care. I'm just pointing out Red Sox are cheap.

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/3107553

 

[Bellhorn04]

33 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

San Diego is a small market IMO. 

Rich ownership though.  Paid tax for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

[notin]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It's no secret that Japanese players prefer the West Coast.  But you can see who the other 4 teams are.

The Sox have lost some prestige and credibility as one of the high power teams, it's just the way it is. 

Is it that Japanese players prefer the west coast? Or that west coast teams prefer Japanese players more so than other teams. We’ve all send plenty of Japanese players sign elsewhere, often eschewing west coast alternatives…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Back to the title thread: Did the Red Sox even swing? You can't miss something you never had.

Like a chance.

[Nick]

4 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Just getting what they deserve for their sustained stretch of penny-pinching and mediocrity.

Exactly......there are consequences to being viewed as 'cheap'.