Cardinals Eye 23-Year-Old Phenom In Potential Game-Changing Move

Will the Cardinals find a way to bring the young ace to town?

Sep 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (not pictured) before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals sound like they are going to at least make an attempt to bring one of the interesting pitching prospects in years to town.

The big-name free-agent pitchers of the offseason certainly have been Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Max Fried. All have had great success at the big league level and have been highly sought-after. Snell landed a $182 million deal and Fried followed it up with a $218 million deal of his own.

Another pitcher who will be much less expensive but could be even better is 23-year-old phenom Rōki Sasaki. He recently was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines after four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The young ace tallied a 2.02 career ERA across 69 appearances for the Marines. He now will join a Major League Baseball club for the 2025 season and beyond. Last offseason, there was a frenzy to sign fellow international free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He landed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Some have speculated that Sasaki could be an even better prospect than Yamamoto, but because of his age, he will not land a mega deal. He will get paid through international bonus pool funds so it will be a fraction of the cost, but he still could be a team's No. 1 starter as soon as 2025.

It's unknown where he will go and we won't know for sure until January, but the Cardinals at least hope to make a pitch to him, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

“I think we’ll make a pitch, yeah,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said as transcribed by Goold. “You never know. Certainly try.”

This doesn't mean that the Cardinals will land him, but it's a good sign they are going to at least try.

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