Sasaki in play for Reds? 'We're going to try and do our best'
Japanese ace among most coveted pitchers on market ahead of 2025 signing period
Mark Sheldon
@m_sheldonDALLAS -- Roki Sasaki is perhaps the most coveted free agent remaining on the market and a generational talent among Japanese superstar starting pitchers. And there is at least a puncher's chance for the Reds to land the 23-year-old.
Wait, what?
Sasaki was posted on Monday by his club, the Chiba Lotte Marines, which gives Major League teams a 45-day window to negotiate and sign the potential rotation ace.
“I’d love to be able to have a conversation with him," Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said on Tuesday during the Winter Meetings. "We’re going to try and do our best. He’s a player we scouted in Japan and we’ll see what happens.”
West Coast teams like the Dodgers and Padres appear to be the early favorites, while East Coast teams like the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox are always attractive big-market options. But it's not simply the team with the biggest payroll that makes the deal.
Why? Sasaki is subject to MLB's international amateur signing bonus pool rules because he is younger than 25 years old and hasn't reached six years of service time. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced last month that Sasaki will be part of the 2025 international amateur signing class.
That helped the Reds chances immediately because at $7,555,500, they are among the handful of clubs with the highest international bonus pools for the 2025 signing period.
Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, noted on Tuesday that the right-hander could be open to smaller and mid-market clubs.
“Yeah, absolutely," Wolfe said as he spoke to a large throng of reporters. "I mean, I think that there's an argument to be made that a smaller mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he's been through ... and not having an enjoyable experience with the media.
"It might be, I'm not saying it will be, but I don't know how he's going to view it. It might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market. But I really don't know how he looks at it yet, because I haven't had a chance to really sit down and discuss it with him in great detail.”
Don't start buying a Sasaki Reds jersey so fast. He also could choose a team that he feels confident would give him a big extension down the road. That could price the Reds out because of their budget.
The plan, Wolfe said, is to have Sasaki meet with clubs at a central location in the United States. Teams that make the first cut could have deeper talks during a visit to a club's city.
"We're going to leave it open-ended, depending on how the first round of meetings go, how many total meetings he plans to have,” Wolfe said. "Teams have already begun sending presentations."
Meanwhile, Tuesday's lobby talk has noted that the Reds seem more interested in making trades than signing free agents to fill their needs. Krall acknowledged as much later in the day.
“We haven’t pivoted anywhere. We’re open. We’ve probably had more discussions about trades than free agents at this point," Krall said. "It’s been a lot of conversations.”
The Reds have a lot of prospects as trade chips, but the talks haven't really veered in that direction.
"It’s been a lot of Major League for Major League players," Krall said in characterizing the talks. “If you trade a guy on the big league roster, you’re also having to backfill for that player. It’s not as easy as 1-for-1. It’s 1-for-1, plus you’ve got to figure out how to fill that hole you’ve just created.”
The Winter Meetings conclude on Wednesday. When asked, Krall said that no trades were close to being completed. But any talks can continue well beyond this week.