Are the Yankees about to lose another star to the Mets? First, it was Juan Soto, and now, it’s looking like the Queens might swoop in on Roki Sasaki. The young pitcher from Japan has taken the baseball world by storm, and now that he’s about to be posted, the race for his services is heating up. Initially, the Dodgers were considered the favorites, thanks to their recent World Series win and their ties to Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But then, the Padres entered the picture, offering Sasaki the chance to be the face of the franchise, unlike in LA, where he’d be lost under the global impact of Ohtani.

And now, in a shocking twist, the Mets have emerged as serious contenders. According to Andy Martino’s post on X, “The Mets met today with free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki, league sources say.” Everyone thought after landing Soto, the Mets might be done, but they’re hungry for more—now, the Yankees might just lose Sasaki to the Mets too! The 23-year-old won’t be able to officially sign with a team until January 15, when the new international signing period opens, which gives the right-handed pitcher a little over a week to make his decision.

That’s not much time to make a life-altering decision, isn’t it? Roki Sasaki’s representative, Joel Wolfe, is hoping the process wraps up closer to January 15, so the young phenom has enough time to secure his visa and be ready for spring training. Also, the teams can only sign Sasaki using their international bonus pools, which range from around $5.1 million to $7.5 million. Wolfe, wisely, plans to steer the young player away from just chasing the biggest payday. Instead, the agent plans to advise the Japanese sensation to consider the bigger picture, which will help him grow. 

How interested are the Mets in Roki Sasaki? 

The Mets have positioned themselves as serious contenders, thanks in part to their growing reputation for successfully navigating the international market. Last year’s smooth signing and transition of Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga to the big leagues has earned them plenty of industry praise. Do you know what else helped? Their impressive pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the last offseason. 

While ultimately the pitcher chose the Dodgers, it demonstrated the Mets’ ability to make a strong pitch to international talent. “We highlight a variety of different things,” David Stearns said, according to ‘the Athletic’, continuing, “We highlight our familiarity with transitioning a Japanese starter to the major-league schedule. We highlight our pitching apparatus, our health apparatus, our nutrition apparatus.”

The president of baseball operations further added, “We want him to know we have the resources and the ability to make the transition as smooth as possible.” David Stearns didn’t leave anything to chance, personally traveling to Japan in September to see Roki Sasaki’s pitch firsthand. During the Winter Meetings, Stearns also revealed then that the Mets had already submitted their pitch to Sasaki’s agency, carefully crafting their message to show what makes them stand out.