DALLAS -- The Mets are making their pitch to Roki Sasaki.

Like many teams, they recently sent a presentation to Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, highlighting the things that make them unique. For the Mets, that begins with their resources -- Steve Cohen’s money, their pitching lab and track record of developing arms, their experience transitioning another recent Japanese starter to the Major League level, and so on. (Not included: Grimace. President of baseball operations David Stearns joked that perhaps this omission was a mistake.)

For now, it’s all the Mets can do. Over the coming weeks, Sasaki will meet with interested teams, which figures to include much of the league. Unlike other free agents, Sasaki is coming stateside as an international amateur free agent, meaning he’ll be subject to bonus pool limits. His total compensation won’t rise much beyond $7 million regardless of where he signs.

• Roki Sasaki's latest rumors

That puts lifestyle factors at more of a premium, and even Wolfe, isn’t certain what his client values. It could be a home on the West Coast, but maybe not. It could be a pairing with another Japanese starter, but maybe not.

“I’m not entirely sure yet,” Wolfe said. “The best I can say is he has paid attention to how teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in years past. He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball. He’s paid attention to what his [World Baseball Classic] teams have done. He’s talked to a lot of foreign players that have been on his team, Chiba Lotte. He asks a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development, and just watching what other Japanese players in the Major Leagues are doing and how they are doing it.”

As for Sasaki’s personality, “Roki is somewhat quiet,” Wolfe said. “He has a dry sense of humor. He’s very witty. He’s not verbose. He doesn’t necessarily love people that are verbose. … His friends and people describe him as very particular. He has a close circle of people around him that he relies on.”

Sound familiar? That could be a carbon-copy description of…

Kodai Senga …

…who, according to Stearns, is a healthy player this offseason. Senga, of course, started just one game during the regular season due to shoulder, calf and triceps issues, but he returned to make two appearances in the playoffs -- one good, one not so good. The Mets expect Senga to begin his offseason throwing program soon and don’t anticipate placing an innings limit on him.

“We are not concerned as an organization about getting him back out there, as long as he feels good,” Stearns said. “One of the main challenges this past year with Senga was even when we were getting him to a point where he was medically in good shape, he had a challenging time getting his mechanics to where he felt like he could go out and really compete. And so that’s going to be part of this process.”

Not Max-ing out

Max Fried’s reported eight-year agreement with the Yankees did nothing to upend the plans of Mets officials, who have been reluctant to commit significant dollars to any single starting pitcher.

Clay Holmes' three-year contract marked the second time in Stearns’ history as a top baseball executive that he even went beyond two years for a starter (the first being a three-year, $9.125 million pact for Josh Lindblom before the 2020 season).

For that reason, the Mets were always unlikely to sign Fried or Corbin Burnes, the top two pitchers available on the open market. Their best bet at a long-term pitching deal is almost certainly for Sean Manaea, in part because of Manaea’s affinity for New York and in part because the left-hander will come cheaper than Fried or Burnes. Most long-term contracts for starting pitchers are bad bets. If the Mets intend to challenge that, they’ll do so for one of their own.

The Mets are not only hyper-motivated to add more pitching, but they’re willing to part with their top prospects if necessary -- a departure from recent offseasons.

“In the right deal, we have to look to see whether there are players who can immediately make us better, who potentially have control, things like that,” Stearns said. “You’re never looking to trade your top prospects. We like the top of our system quite a bit. We think it’s a good group. Many of them have the ability, potentially, to help us pretty quickly at the big league level. So I can’t say we’re looking to do it, but I’m not going to close the door on it.”

And how about the bullpen?

ESPN reported this week that the Mets have expressed interest in longtime Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga, who missed almost all last season due to right elbow surgery, but a source denied rumors of an imminent deal. Loáisiga would fit Stearns’ MO as a high-upside reliever who could come cheaper due to his injury history. He’s been dynamic when healthy, producing a 2.98 ERA since 2020 and ranking among the game’s hardest throwers with a triple-digit sinker.