MLB Insider Provides Important Update On Potential Red Sox Target

Juan Soto is the main event of MLB winter meetings, but another player the Boston Red Sox have been linked to also will be a hot topic of discussion.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Saturday that Roki Sasaki will be posted at the winter meetings next week. This opens up the Japanese phenom’s 45-day window, where teams will try to convince him to choose them once the international amateur signing period opens on Jan. 15. The window is expected to open Tuesday, sources told Passan.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reportedly flew to Japan to scout Sasaki, and Boston is expected to be among the contenders to sign the “Monster of the Reiwa Era.” However, to not many fans’ and insiders’ shock, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorite to sign the 23-year-old.

Money won’t be an issue with Sasaki because he is under 25 years old and has less than six years of experience. MLB rules dictate that he is an international free agent and can only earn up to $7.5 million — Shohei Ohtani was under the same restriction when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels.

The complicated path to signing Sasaki could be worth it, though. The right-hander arguably has the best triple-digit fastball in the world and has an array of pitches that make him a more intriguing pitcher than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a lucrative contract last free agency. Sasaki also threw a 19-strikeout perfect game in 2022, a game that statically might be the best-pitched game ever. He also broke Ohtani’s high school record of the highest fastball velocity in Japan and excelled in his Nippon Professional Baseball career.

Sasaki would pair well for any team that signs Soto because of his price tag. He also would allow a club like the Red Sox to gain a frontline starter without having to give up key assets. The competition will be tough and another thing to keep an eye on during winter meetings.