The Cubs have gone by the primary couple steps of pursuing 23-year-old free agent flame-thrower Roki Sasaki. However the Japanese phenom has but to whittle down the taking part in subject from an preliminary spherical of in-person interviews, Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe mentioned in a Zoom information convention name Monday.
“He’s positively driving the ship and calling the photographs,” Wolfe mentioned. “Roki is a really pushed and clever and specific particular person.”
Sasaki has to make his choice within the subsequent three and a half weeks, certain by the principles of the posting system as he strikes from Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball to MLB. The 2025 worldwide signing interval opens on Jan. 15, and Sasaki’s posting window stays open for about one other week after.
Wolfe mentioned that “as of now” he doesn’t foresee Sasaki signing as quickly because the worldwide interval opens.
When Sasaki was posted for MLB teams earlier this month, his brokers at Wasserman put out an all-call for groups to submit data for him to evaluation. By their final rely, 20 groups had despatched in materials. The Cubs, in keeping with sources, had been among the many groups that started making ready their presentation prematurely and submitted their presentation inside days of Sasaki’s posting.
“It was actually one thing,” Wolfe mentioned. “The extent of preparation, the movies – I imply, it was just like the Roki Movie Pageant.”
The subsequent step was a spherical of in-person conferences, which included the Cubs, sources confirmed However Wolfe declined to say what number of groups Sasaki met with, citing the individuality of the novice worldwide free agent course of.
Wanting to make sure a “honest and stage taking part in subject,” Wolfe mentioned, Sasaki set particular standards for the primary spherical of conferences. They had been held on the Wasserman workplaces in Los Angeles and restricted to below two hours every. No gamers had been to function staff representatives. And Sasaki gave each staff a “homework project.”
“With out giving the precise particulars of what that project was,” Wolfe mentioned, “each staff obtained that exact same project, and it enabled them to point out how they’ll analyze and talk data with him, and actually confirmed the place he was coming from in analyzing and creating his choice standards in totally different groups.”
Sasaki returned to Japan over the vacations. His subsequent steps might embrace first-round conferences with one or two extra groups, however Wolfe mentioned it was extra probably that Sasaki would start “narrowing the sphere.” Sasaki may also determine whether or not he needs to go to “one or two cities” as he finalizes his choice.
Now, the Cubs wait to listen to in the event that they’ll make the lower.
In the event that they managed to signal Sasaki, the transfer would strengthen the Cubs’ case as severe rivals subsequent season. They’d be additional strengthening their rotation proper after adding three-time All-Star Kyle Tucker, the type of hitter their lineup was lacking.
Sasaki’s velocity and plus stuff are anticipated to make him robust in opposition to hitters straight away. And he’s so younger that he might additionally assist prolong the Cubs’ championship window. Sasaki may not be an ace instantly, however many imagine he has future Cy Younger potential.
“He needs to be one of many best ever,” Wolfe mentioned. “I see that now, and he’s articulated it. And to be that, he is aware of he has to problem himself.”
As Wolfe talked about how Sasaki’s expertise within the 2023 World Baseball Basic helped encourage him to make the leap to MLB, taking part in with Japanese MLB stars Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish, the agent made offhand point out of a Cubs pitcher.
“Then seeing [Shota] Imanaga come over and dominate at such a stage within the first half,” Wolfe continued, “I imagine he realized – and I’m not talking for Roki, I’m talking my very own opinion – that he realized so as to take it to the subsequent stage, he needed to come right here, play in opposition to the perfect gamers on the planet day by day, and faucet into all of the assets that major-league groups have to assist him turn into among the best pitchers to ever – not simply come out of NPB – however to be among the best pitchers in Main League Baseball.”
