The Mets and Yankees scouted 22-year-old Japanese ace Roki Sasaki during his latest start, according to multiple reports out of Japan.
In addition to both New York teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals were among the other teams in attendance.
It’s unclear when Sasaki will be posted for MLB teams.
He requested for his team — the Chiba Lotte Marines — to post him this past offseason, but the request was denied.
If Sasaki is posted during the 2024-25 offseason, or any offseason before his 25th birthday, he will be forgoing a huge payday. That’s because MLB rules do not allow players under 25 and with fewer than six professional seasons to sign anything but a minor league deal. In Sasaki’s case, the deal would count toward his signing team’s international bonus pool allotment.
The above rule is why then-23-year-old Shohei Ohtani received just $2.315 million when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.
Sasaki has been overpowering during his first three professional seasons with the Marines, posting a 1.90 ERA and 0.82 WHIP while striking out 395 batters in 303.2 innings over 51 games.
His strikeout rate has risen from 9.4 per nine in his first season to 12.0 in 2022 and 13.4 in 2023.
Compared to Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not as elite — and did not strike out nearly as many batters per nine — during his first three professional seasons in Japan.
Source Agencies
