{"id":92592,"date":"2024-12-21T22:38:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T03:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=92592"},"modified":"2024-12-21T22:38:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T03:38:52","slug":"yankees-make-pitch-roki-sasaki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/21\/yankees-make-pitch-roki-sasaki\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees Make Pitch to Highly-Sought Japanese Phenom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Yankees still haven&#8217;t finished their post-Soto spending spree, as the team met with Japanese phenom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=sasaki000rok&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roki Sasaki<\/a> on Thursday. Of course, they aren&#8217;t the only club vying for the 23-year-old&#8217;s services; but according to the <a  href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/12\/20\/sports\/yankees-made-pitch-to-roki-sasaki-on-same-day-as-mets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>New York Post<\/em>&#8216;s Jon Heyman<\/a>, the New York Mets are also in hot pursuit of the star pitcher.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EhbklD2SvS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/EhbklD2SvS<\/a>. Secret Sasaki Doubleheader: Yankees met with the superstar righthander on the same day as Mets, sources tell <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nypostsports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@nypostsports<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonHeyman\/status\/1870250461225271637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Yankees Make Pitch to Roki Sasaki<\/h2>\n<h3>Plan B<\/h3>\n<p>After losing out to the Mets on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&amp;search=Juan+Soto&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Juan Soto<\/a>, the Yankees have been busy with what has been dubbed &#8220;Plan B&#8221;. They <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/17\/cubs-trade-cody-bellinger-to-yankees\/\" target=\"_self\">traded<\/a> for the versatile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bellico01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cody Bellinger<\/a> from the Chicago Cubs last week, also acquiring an <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/13\/yankees-trade-for-devin-williams\/\" target=\"_self\">elite closer<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=willide03,willia005dev&amp;search=Devin+Williams&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Williams<\/a>, from the Milwaukee Brewers. Additionally, they&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/21\/yankees-signs-veteran-first-baseman-paul-goldschmidt\/\" target=\"_self\">signed<\/a> former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/10\/max-fried-yankees-eight-year-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">All-Stars<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goldspa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Goldschmidt<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/10\/max-fried-yankees-eight-year-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">Max Fried<\/a>, the latter likely being a flex of Hal Steinbrenner&#8217;s financial muscles.<\/p>\n<p>But this spree of acquisitions begs the question of where everyone will fit in; in particular, in the starting rotation. The Yankees dealt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cortene01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nestor Cortes<\/a> in the Williams trade and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/poteeco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cody Poteet<\/a> in the Bellinger deal. But they still have six full-time starters in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/colege01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gerrit Cole<\/a>, Fried, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rodonca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carlos Rod\u00f3n<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gillu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Gil<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schmicl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clarke Schmidt<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stromma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Stroman<\/a>. If they were to sign Sasaki, it&#8217;s likely Stroman or Schmidt who would get the boot. But another such addition to the roster would mean moving even more players around on a team that is already undergoing a major makeover from 2024 to 2025.<\/p>\n<h3>New York vs. New York<\/h3>\n<p>That&#8217;s not to say that the Yankees couldn&#8217;t use Sasaki&#8217;s services. Signing the latest newcomer from Japan would bolster a Yankee rotation that is already among some of the best in baseball after signing Fried. This won&#8217;t be easy, however, as Sasaki can only receive money from each team&#8217;s international pool, meaning that the Yankees&#8217; big-spending mentality won&#8217;t be an advantage here.<\/p>\n<p>According to Heyman, both teams flew to Los Angeles to meet with the star on Thursday. Though Japanese players typically prefer West Coast teams, there are a few factors that give the Yankees a fighting chance at landing him over teams like the Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres (both have been linked to Sasaki).<\/p>\n<h3>The Advantages<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to their rich history of success and developing pitching talent, the Yankees also have a history of Japanese players successfully making the jump from NPB to MLB, most notably <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/matsuhi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hideki Matsui<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tanakma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Masahiro Tanaka<\/a>. The Yankees reportedly made Tanaka an active part of their pitch to Sasaki, which should only help their case being that Sasaki is reportedly a fan of the former Yankee starting pitcher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s obviously a tremendous talent,\u201d said Brian Cashman concerning Sasaki earlier this week. \u201cIt\u2019d be nice to have Yankee Stadium be his home, but the decision will be up to him. All we can do is share everything and anything that we can about ourselves and what we provide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It wouldn&#8217;t just be nice if Sasaki called Yankee Stadium home: it would be great. Though he is only 23 years old, we&#8217;ve seen what Matt Blake and the rest of their pitching coaches have done with players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=weavelu01,weaver001luk&amp;search=Luke+Weaver&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Weaver<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kingmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael King<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holmecl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clay Holmes<\/a>. If they can replicate that same success with Roki Sasaki and he becomes an elite starter, the Yankees just might have the most formidable pitching staff in MLB next season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Yankees still haven&#8217;t finished their post-Soto spending spree, as the team met with Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki on Thursday. Of course, they aren&#8217;t the only club vying for the 23-year-old&#8217;s services; but according to the New York Post&#8216;s Jon Heyman, the New York Mets are also in hot pursuit of the star [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5148,"featured_media":92602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1071,35],"tags":[197,1418,899,4266,611,2860,218,28788,208,28707],"class_list":["post-92592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yankees","category-mlb","category-news","tag-carlos-rodon","tag-clarke-schmidt","tag-cody-bellinger","tag-devin-williams","tag-gerrit-cole","tag-luis-gil","tag-max-fried","tag-nestor-cortes","tag-paul-goldschmidt","tag-roki-sasaki"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92592"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92603,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92592\/revisions\/92603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}