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Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman remain the most sought-after MLB free agents in the market. Their additions to any team would make them serious contenders but Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki's sweepstakes are going to catch some wind. As per analyst Rich Ciancimino, his signing would outvalue the other two veterans.
On "The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey," the pair discussed the remaining free agents and which team could triumph if they added a last major piece. As per Ciancimino, 23-year-old Sasaki is the biggest prize available, so whichever team acquires him would make a better case for themselves than ones getting Alonso or Bregman.
"Roki Sasaki is out there and the biggest of the big guns want him, so he will either be a Dodger, Padre, Yankee, Met — I mean, who knows? Red Sox, Blue Jays are in, like somebody's getting that guy.
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"This guy is maybe one of the top 10 pitchers in the world right now, and somebody's finding him. So, I think that's the biggest sign. Whoever signs him is going to be bigger than whoever signs Bregman or Alonso," Ciancimino said. [14:20]
Roki Sasaki's deal won't be similar to Alex Bregman or Pete Alonso's because he's under 25, which makes him eligible only to be signed as an amateur in the international bonus pool.
Roki Sasaki to take a second round of MLB discussions after returning from Japan
As soon as Roki Sasaki was posted, as many as 20 MLB teams showed their interest in acquiring his services.
The 23-year-old met with a few teams in Los Angeles with his agent, Joel Wolfe, and returned to Japan to chart his next plan of action. Wolfe said he made it a priority for all teams that he had shortlisted to get an equal opportunity.
“One thing that was very important to Roki was he wanted to make sure that everything was a fair and level playing field, both for his own decision-making process and for the teams,” Wolfe said.
The international bonus pool is set to open on Jan. 15. Sasaki was posted on Dec. 10 but is to be signed within the next 45 days. That will give MLB teams eight days, from Jan. 15-23, to sign him.
