Roki Sasaki Free Agency - White Sox have a presentation

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, RibbieRubarb said:

Lots of buzz in Dallas about him coming here. 

 

Buzz that Sasaki is coming to Dallas (Texas Rangers) or Chicago (White Sox)?

[Bob Sacamano]

19 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Buzz that Sasaki is coming to Dallas (Texas Rangers) or Chicago (White Sox)?

I’m assuming Texas

Edited December 17 by Bob Sacamano

[WhiteSox2023]

12 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I’m assuming Dallas

That was my assumption as well.  But I could see some confusion when one is posting it on a Sox message board.

[caulfield12]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ranking-roki-sasakis-7-most-likely-mlb-landing-spots/

 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/16/sport/roki-sasaki-free-agent-spt-intl/index.html

[caulfield12]

SAN DIEGO -- It’s been a week since Japanese ace Roki Sasaki was posted, and per the timeline laid out by his agent Joel Wolfe, Sasaki could begin meeting with teams as soon as this week.

Almost certainly, the Padres will be one of them. Wolfe seemed to acknowledge as much last week, saying he assumes that San Diego “would be a team [Sasaki] would seriously consider.”

OK then! It’s time for the Padres to make their pitch to one of the sport’s top international stars. Here’s what that pitch might look like and why San Diego might be the right fit:

 

1. It’s a unique opportunity

Let's start by talking baseball. Strictly baseball. When Wolfe was asked explicitly what Sasaki is looking for in a suitor, his answer started with the obvious: Sasaki wants to win.

"The best I can say is he has paid attention to how teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in years past," Wolfe said. "He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball."

Sure, there are organizations that have won more than the Padres recently. But San Diego has reached the postseason in three of the past five years -- in a baseball-centric market that is uniquely hungry for a winner.

“I feel like we're in a good spot for a multitude of reasons,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “One, we're in San Diego. We sell out our ballpark every night. We have a very competitive ballclub. And it's a chance for him to come in and create a legacy for himself -- to help win the first World Series (and likely beat the Dodgers in the process).”

 

2. Deep Japanese ties

Clearly, Sasaki has an immense level of respect for Yu Darvish, one of his childhood favorites and a teammate at the World Baseball Classic.

Wolfe, who is also Darvish’s agent, wouldn't delve into the specifics of that relationship. But he did praise general manager A.J. Preller in the summer for his handling of Darvish’s personal matter -- which kept Darvish away from the team.

The Padres haven’t specified the level of Darvish’s involvement in this process, but …

"Yu will be involved," said Shildt. "To what degree? That will be up to Darvish and, of course, A.J. will help shepherd that. I feel confident Darvish will take his rightful spot in doing what he can."

Of course, the organizational ties to Japan run much deeper than Darvish. Japanese pitching icon Hideo Nomo is a senior adviser to Preller, and the team has long made scouting in Japan a priority, even as other organizations cut back. It recently landed them lefty reliever Yuki Matsui, another of Sasaki's teammates at the WBC.

 

3. The right market?

Of everything Wolfe said last Tuesday in Dallas at the Winter Meetings, this might’ve been most notable:

“There’s an argument to be made that a smaller or mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he’s been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the media. It might be. I’m not saying it will be. I don’t know how he’s going to view it, but it might be beneficial for him.”

To reiterate a separate point Wolfe made, Sasaki isn’t ruling out big-market clubs. But he was clearly upset by the way his family was thrust into the spotlight amid rumors he would be leaving Japan. While the Dodgers remain among the favorites to land Sasaki, this would seem to be a point in the favor of the Padres.

Plus, there’s something to be said about the market itself. It’s a baseball-crazed city. It’s a city hungry for a championship. It’s a city that fills the ballpark every night. But it’s also not the type of place where Sasaki would be squarely in the national public eye. Or the type of place he’d be booed off the mound or badgered in public.

 

AJ Cassavell, mlb.com

 

Of course, you could also make the same argument with Darvish originally joining the Texas Rangers...as a "big/ger" baseball market but certainly not the glaring spotlight of LA, NYC, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.

Edited December 17 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

6 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

 Sasaki wants to win.

Well this saves Sox fans some time.

[caulfield12]

The Rangers front office has been scouting Sasaki since he was fifteen years old, and as recently as last season, Chris Young and staff traveled to Japan to scout him.

So what did we learn today? Did Wolfe provide any new information and does it favor the Rangers? Let’s break it all down.

Somewhat of an already known but Wolfe reiterated that Sasaki won’t necessarily be signing with a big market team.

Wolfe said, “There is an argument that a smaller market team would be more beneficial”. It’s important to note that he said it “might” be and not that he’s not saying that it “will be”.

We learned today that Sasaki has been watching a lot of MLB games this year and has been paying attention to how teams did not only this year but in past years.

That works well for the Rangers who won the World Series title in 2023 and still has that same core intact.

Perhaps most importantly we learn what Sasaki is valuing here in this almost college recruitment-like process.

Wolfe said that Sasaki often asks about weather. We know the Rangers playing in Globe Life Field will do nothing but help the pursuit of him. Not to mention the outdoor weather isn’t too bad in DFW either if you don’t mind the heat.

Sasaki also values pitching development and with Mike Maddux, the Rangers have one of the best pitching coaches in MLB.

Obviously, the Rangers haven’t been the most successful team in terms of developing pitchers but one very important hit was Japanese sensation Yu Darvish.

 

https://www.fansfirstsports.com/everything-we-learned-about-the-rangers-persuit-of-roki-sasaki/

[caulfield12]

5 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Well this saves Sox fans some time.

Not even WestEddy could attempt to make the counter-argument on this one going back to 2022....

Weather is certainly not going to count as a point in Chicago's favor, either...even if he planned on spending no time from October/November through spring training in the city.

Edited December 17 by caulfield12

[Lip Man 1]

When all is said and done this will simply be another opportunity for the Sox organization to say, "we had a seat at the table...we tried..." without any real chance to succeed. 

[Sleepy Harold]

18 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

When all is said and done this will simply be another opportunity for the Sox organization to say, "we had a seat at the table...we tried..." without any real chance to succeed. 

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't with Roki. They'd get flamed for not even bothering to try and sign him, but no one really expects him to choose the Sox anyways so they're (understandably) the butt of jokes because they're making a pitch. 

[caulfield12]

4 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't with Roki. They'd get flamed for not even bothering to try and sign him, but no one really expects him to choose the Sox anyways so they're (understandably) the butt of jokes because they're making a pitch. 

It would probably help if the A's weren't wildly outspending them going into a AAA stadium for three years.

[WestEddy]

5 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

It would probably help if the A's weren't wildly outspending them going into a AAA stadium for three years.

It's been pretty widely speculated that the As are spending to hold off a grievance. I'm not sure how that hurts the White Sox. 

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, Sleepy Harold said:

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't with Roki. They'd get flamed for not even bothering to try and sign him, but no one really expects him to choose the Sox anyways so they're (understandably) the butt of jokes because they're making a pitch. 

If they weren’t such a joke of a team with a joke of an owner, they’d have a chance at signing international players like Sasaki, but they have neglected this area for years and aren’t a desirable location to land in.  The Sox made their bed and now they get to lay in it. 

Edited December 17 by WhiteSox2023

[caulfield12]

33 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

It's been pretty widely speculated that the As are spending to hold off a grievance. I'm not sure how that hurts the White Sox. 

How far off are the Sox from a grievance for spending money so inefficiently that 3 AL Central teams (two with .500 records minus head to head with Sox) made the playoffs over the "coastal elite" teams of the AL East and West?

Without Robert and Benintendi, they're at a $50 million payroll without a single marketable player, let alone a star.  The A's at least have Rooker, a young offensive core and are spending in FA, as well as adding Springs from the Rays...who is over $10 million per season.

Edited December 17 by caulfield12

[southsider2k5]

37 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't with Roki. They'd get flamed for not even bothering to try and sign him, but no one really expects him to choose the Sox anyways so they're (understandably) the butt of jokes because they're making a pitch. 

I might feel bad if they had a history of actually trying,  but they have 100% earned their reputation. 

[Lip Man 1]

50 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I might feel bad if they had a history of actually trying,  but they have 100% earned their reputation. 

Very true. With the Sox there always seems to be an "excuse" for not being able to close a deal on a superstar since Albert Belle (and the only reason the Sox got him was because JR was upset the other owners settled the 94/95 labor impasse on terms he didn't agree with and he was going to show them...) 

[Sleepy Harold]

1 hour ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

If they weren’t such a joke of a team with joke of an owner, they’d have a chance at signing international players like Sasaki, but they have neglected this area for years and aren’t a desirable location to land in.  The Sox made their bed and now they get to lay in it. 

 

53 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I might feel bad if they had a history of actually trying,  but they have 100% earned their reputation. 

I don't disagree with either of you, the mocking is well earned/deserved. Just pointing out we'd also torch them for not trying too. 

[caulfield12]

18 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Very true. With the Sox there always seems to be an "excuse" for not being able to close a deal on a superstar since Albert Belle (and the only reason the Sox got him was because JR was upset the other owners settled the 94/95 labor impasse on terms he didn't agree with and he was going to show them...) 

And the closest they ever came since Belle were the signings of Adam Dunn and Robertson/Hendriks as top closer contracts.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

5 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Buzz that Sasaki is coming to Dallas (Texas Rangers) or Chicago (White Sox)?

The way it’s worded, it sounds like White Sox to me. But perhaps I’m delusional.

[Chisoxfn]

4 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

The way it’s worded, it sounds like White Sox to me. But perhaps I’m delusional.

As miserable as the last decade has been - boy would this be a welcome surprise…surprise being an understatement. 

[ChiSoxFanMike]

14 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

As miserable as the last decade has been - boy would this be a welcome surprise…surprise being an understatement. 

We are so overdue for something to go our way. This would change everything.

Edited December 17 by ChiSoxFanMike

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 12/15/2024 at 11:37 AM, Dick Allen said:

If Tadahito Iguchi as a coach closes the deal for this guy, there are 29 teams besides the White Sox that would hire him, and be willing to pay him more than the White Sox pay their manager. If he is playing for pool money, he needs to maximize outside income,. How is that done with the White Sox who won’t be on national TV. Won’t play any meaningful games except for losing for draft position!. .And how long will the team be like this? You would have to think at least until this guy is in his arb years. He will be out of sight and out of mind until the Sox trade him.Why pitch for a team that  doesn’t have the ability to maximize your success?

Look you can argue with me as much as you want I just told you I know the odds are long for any star player even on a fairly equal monetary contract to want to play on the Sox.If it makes you feel better to say I knew he wasn't coming here then great be happy being right.

I'm just saying there's a way for it to happen if Sasaki has respect for Iguchi and Getz really wanted to  get him that's the angle along with look what we did for Crochet. I'm not saying It'll work.. But it is a angle that no one else can use.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 12/15/2024 at 8:58 AM, Eminor3rd said:

For some context, Iguchi was let go as manager to make room for the promotion of Masato Yoshii, who was previously the pitching coach, and has a very close relationship with Sasaki. Yoshii is known to be a health/biomechanics expert, and it has been speculated that his promotion was the result of the Marines considering Sasaki the most important part of the organization; no one was more familiar with Sasaki's unique health situation nor better positioned to manage it.

I will admit that it can be very confusing to attempt to follow these types of things as a non-Japanese person, because the language is so impossible to map to Latin-based languages, and the layers of obfuscation they tend to speak with, particularly to the media and particularly with matters that affect reputation, can be even more confounding. But regardless of what actually led to those managerial moves, I would think it very unlikely that Iguchi would have been let go if Sasaki found him to be personally important. 

But, you know. I don't really know, of course.

Right you don't know & I don't know but it's Getz job to find out. I had read and even mentioned the pitching coach in a previous post. I had no idea who did what. If u say it was mostly the coach Iguchi went along with the plan.

Iguchis isn't exactly unknown to Sasaki and if he's a good kid raised to honor his elders he likely respects his ex manager more than he might Getz.

[Dick Allen]

10 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said:

They're damned if they do and damned if they don't with Roki. They'd get flamed for not even bothering to try and sign him, but no one really expects him to choose the Sox anyways so they're (understandably) the butt of jokes because they're making a pitch. 

They put themselves in this situation. Not any of us. Mark DeRosa was making fun of the White Sox on MLBN the other day. How dare he. He wondered why anyone would want to play here. Consecutive 100 + loss seasons in what was supposed to be the peak of your competitive window, with one being the most losses of all time.  Be competent, get treated like you’re competent. It’s not overkill to think the probability is the White Sox will f*** up whatever they are doing.

Edited December 17 by Dick Allen

[Sleepy Harold]

4 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

They put themselves in this situation. Not any of us. Mark DeRosa was making fun of the White Sox on MLBN the other day. How dare he. He wondered why anyone would want to play here. Consecutive 100 + loss seasons in what was supposed to be the peak of your competitive window, with one being the most losses of all time.  Be competent, get treated like you’re competent.

The public flaming and ridicule they've been receiving is well earned and deserved (which I said). That doesn't mean they still shouldn't try to sign him, regardless of how unlikely it is. My point was they're going to be dragged either way, for which they only have themselves to blame.