Three Teams Reportedly Eliminated From Sweepstakes For Roki Sasaki
In this story:
The Seattle Mariners are still looking for answers to their infield with a month left until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
But at the rate the current offseason has gone, the Mariners will likely to wait until several free agents find new homes. And on the morning of Jan. 13, one of the biggest dominoes seems to be getting ready to fall.
According to several reports from various insiders, three teams are reportedly out of the running for free agent Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki.
According to the Athletic's New York Mets beat reporter Will Sammon, YES Network reporter Jack Curry and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Susan Slusser; the Mets, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants will reportedly not be signing the former World Baseball Classic gold medalist.
Per Zack Minasian on this Verlander call. The Giants did meet with Sasaki in person.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) January 13, 2025
Seattle President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto openly expressed the team would pursue Sasaki during MLB Winter Meetings in early December. But the Mariners weren't one of the teams reported to have met with Sasaki.
But neither were the Toronto Blue Jays, who were reported to have sat down with Sasaki last week per a story from Sammon, Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have been viewed as the favorites to land the Chiba Lotte Marines ace, and the same article stating that Sasaki met with the Blue Jays said he sat down with the Padres, as well.
Roki Sasaki's Disgusting Offspeed Stuff. 😳
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 20, 2023
Good luck.
And, yes, he's 21 years old. pic.twitter.com/s7G2H8rFgT
Seattle has been quiet on how involved they are in the Sasaki sweepstakes. But several reports have said that the team's pitch would include highlighting their league-best starting pitching rotation and development staff. Team legend and Japanese icon Ichiro Suzuki was also expected to be a part of that pitch.
Sasaki is only eligible to sign a minor league deal due to his age (23 years-old), and his signing bonus will count toward the 2025 international signing pool. Los Angeles and San Diego have both started to kick their expected international signing class down the road to have enough bonus money to sign Sasaki.
Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish said on the Extra Innings podcast, posted on Jan. 7, that the Mariners had not met with Sasaki yet, but speculated that the team still could.
If Seattle does have a chance to land Sasaki, then there's already significantly less competition for him.
Sasaki's deadline to sign with a team is Jan. 23 and the 2025 international signing period opens on Jan. 15.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
FANS, MEDIA REACT TO FORMER SEATTLE MANAGER SERVAIS' NEW ROLE: Fans of the Seattle Mariners had kind words for former manager Scott Servais after news he accepted a job with the San Diego Padres. CLICK HERE
IMPORTANT SPRING TRAINING DATES AND TIMES FOR SEATTLE MARINERS: The offseason has seemed to gone by in the blink of an eye of Seattle Mariners baseball is set to return soon. CLICK HERE
MARINERS MAKE POST CELEBRATING BIRTHDAY OF BENCH COACH: The former major league manager, third base coach and current bench coach celebrated his 56th birthday on Jan. 11. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
