It Did Not Make Much Sense for the Yankees to Sign This Player
By Derek McAdam
January 15, 2025
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The New York Yankees have had a very active off-season, and were one of the teams that met with Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. However, the Yankees got the dreadful news on Monday that they were not one of the finalist teams for Sasaki, as the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are reportedly amongst the three destinations for the 23-year old.
While Sasaki drew interest from two-thirds of MLB teams, there was good reason for many teams to show interest. It isn’t just the fact that he had a 2.12 career ERA in four seasons in Japan, but the fact that Sasaki will be required to sign a minor-league contract with whatever team he chooses, similarly to what Shohei Ohtani did before the 2018 season.
This is due to Sasaki not being 25 years old, and although the team that wins the sweepstakes will still have to pay his Japanese team some money, it is still a very solid bargain for his services, irregardless of how well he performs.
And while Sasaki will be choosing his team any day now, the ultimate question is whether he decides to join Ohtani and several other Japanese stars on the Dodgers or perhaps choose the Padres, who just so happen to have one of Sasaki’s favorite players on their roster in Yu Darvish. Or maybe Sasaki decides he wants to have his own spotlight in Toronto, who are looking for all the help they can get to avoid Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette walk at the end of the season.
It is going to be an interesting few days ahead, as Sasaki has until Jan. 23 to sign with a team before he will be required to return to Japan for the 2025 season. And while I would have liked to have seen Sasaki in a Yankee uniform, I don’t think signing him would have made complete sense at this point in the Yankee off-season.
Brian Cashman kicked off the Yankees’ off-season by signing Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract, a record for a left-handed pitcher. The Yankees also kept Gerrit Cole in pinstripes this off-season for four years to come, so they have not lost any starters. As of now, the rotation will consist of Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, and Marcus Stroman. The Yankees are reportedly shopping Stroman, but whether or not they can trade him is a different story.
The Yankees’ starting rotation is already full, and adding Sasaki would mean that one player would likely be traded (Stroman) while another would likely shift to the bullpen (Schmidt). The Yankees are still reportedly seeking bullpen help, so signing Sasaki could have solved this issue. However, I want to see if Schmidt can actually develop into a reliable starter for an entire season. The Yankees have had plenty of starting pitching prospects that ultimately became bullpen pieces, which is fine for a few players. But over the past few seasons, it seems as if too many starting prospects are becoming relievers.
And while the Yankees can never go wrong with more pitching, their focus right now should be deciding who their fourth infielder will be for the 2025 season, whether it be for second or third base.
As for Sasaki, playing in New York is nothing compared to playing on the West Coast. Whether it be in Los Angeles or San Diego, the weather is much nicer throughout the season and the humidity is not as overbearing as it can get in the Bronx during the summer. Plus, many Japanese players have decided to play on the West Coast due to its proximity to their home country.
Not only is the flight to Japan five hours less from the West Coast compared to New York, but the Pacific time zone allows for more Japanese residents to watch live MLB games. It’s a win-win scenario for Japanese players. And while the Dodgers have also been able to acquire a couple of Japanese players since Ohtani’s arrival before the start of last season, it also represents a win for other Japanese stars if they decide to play on the West Coast, specifically for an NL team.
Although teams don’t play each other 18 times over the course of a season anymore, the Padres will still play the Dodgers a handful of times, which will garner plenty of media coverage both in the U.S. and in Japan. It just makes the most sense for Sasaki to join the Padres, but we will find out soon enough.
FWIW, because of the polar route, non-stop Narita to LA/SD is about 3 hrs shorter than to NYC, and the return is about 2.5 hrs. shorter. So yes, longer to NYC, but not as bad as 5 hrs each way.
I'll also take the heat and humidity of NYC over the pollution and wild fires in LA (a dear friend from high school just lost her house, but she and her family are all safe, thank goodness). SD truly does have great weather, but the whole West Coast spooks me with earthquake risk.
Sasaki, not signing with the Yankees is more of a blow to the psyche of the fans or the organization?
it would have made great sense for the Yankees to sign Sasaki. it always makes sense to sign very talented pitchers and it's rarely a problem to find a place for them.
that said, having him sign with a West Coast also is not a heavy blow to the organization, given that the rotation is sound and buttressed with a couple of good pitching prospects.
When Brian Cashman questioned Stanton's fitness at the GM Meetings in 2023, Stanton's agent fired back saying that there will be consequences for public statements like that. Well, both Sasaki and Yamamoto end up with the same agent. So the Yankees not signing either player perhaps has more to do with Joel Wolfe, aka The Agent, than ANY other reason anyone could come up with?