Roki Sasaki rumors: Which teams are the best fits for star Japanese pitcher?

MLB free agency has gotten off to a very hot start this winter. Already, we've seen star players like Juan Soto, Willy Adames, Max Fried, Garrett Crochet, and Andres Gimenez change teams and we're not even halfway through December. We've still got several big difference-makers available in free agency.

One of the biggest names is undoubtedly Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki. After the success of pitchers like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki is a hot draw as someone who could immediately jump into an MLB rotation as an ace.

He's freshly 23 years old, with a career 2.10 ERA through four years of NPB baseball. That's hard to come by. Yamamoto was 25 when he came over. He had a 1.72 ERA. Ohtani was 23. He had a 2.55 ERA. Essentially, you can see why teams would be so interested in him, especially after he posted a 3.52 ERA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Here's the most recent news and rumors as well as which teams would be the best fits for the Japanese superstar.

MLB free agency: Japanese ace Rōki Sasaki hits MLB market. Here's why phenom can only get about $7.5M

Latest Rōki Sasaki rumors:

Sasaki will be a phenomenal draw. Not only is he young, but he'll also be cheap. He hasn't played enough professional baseball in Japan to warrant anything more than an international amateur contract, which could range from anywhere between $5.1 million to $7.5 million, according to Bob Nightengale.

Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, has said that for this exact reason, money is less of a factor in Sasaki's decision. "Given the gap in the bonus pool amounts is so negligible, my advice to him is don’t make a decision based on that," he said.

His agent also said that "there is an argument to be made that a smaller, mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing [for Sasaki]." If Sasaki would consider a small market team, then that opens the floodgates for any team interested in signing him, which would be every team in MLB. Wolfe also noted that Sasaki has paid close attention to teams and their pitching development track record.

Already, teams like the Cincinnati Reds, that would never normally be involved in talks with such a highly-touted free agent, have expressed interest in signing Sasaki. Other teams in similar tiers of spending could soon enter the market as well.

Best fits for Roki Sasaki

5) Pittsburgh Pirates

Although the Pirates came in last place in the NL Central, they have a few solid starters coming up, including Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler, and Thomas Harrington. Then there is, of course, Paul Skenes.

Obviously, the Pirates would need more than a stellar starting rotation to win the NL Central, but this would be a huge signing that could spark major change in the organization.

4) Los Angeles Dodgers

Although a small market might be in the books, it would be hard for a team to put up a better case for Sasaki than the reigning World Series champs.

Recent success? Obviously.

Rich, deep history? Absolutely.

Connections with Japan? They've got two of his country teammates in Ohtani and Yamamoto on their starting staff.

Somewhere he might want to go long-term? You know it.

Develops pitchers well? Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan, Dustin May are all pretty good. Even Walker Buehler, though currently a free agent, was supposed to take over MLB before his injury.

Do the Dodgers need more starting pitching? No, but you can never have too much of a good thing, especially after the Dodgers were ravaged with injuries a season ago.

3) Detroit Tigers

The Tigers earned a trip to the AL Division Series on the back of their pitching staff, which included several homegrown talents, most notably Tarik Skubal. The Tigers have already proven capable of reaching the postseason and could offer Sasaki the opportunity to compete for a World Series right away.

Pair that rotation with president of baseball operation Scott Harris claiming that he wants to be aggressive this offseason, and there's good reason to believe Sasaki could be enticed to head to the Motor City.

2) Cleveland Guardians

No team has been better at developing pitchers than the Cleveland Guardians in recent years. In fact, the Guardians have led MLB in WAR from pitchers under 26 since 2015. They also just traded away Andres Gimenez and could be in the market for another superstar to fill that void.

The Guardians check every single box that Sasaki could ask for. That said, there have been no reports that Cleveland is in the running for Sasaki just yet.

1) Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners, much like Cleveland, check every box Sasaki could want. They also have the added benefit of having a history with Japanese players like Ichiro Suzuki, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Yusei Kikuchi. Seattle has also recently developed very strong pitchers like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryce Miller, each of whom were instrumental in Seattle's near-playoff push a season ago.

Given Seattle's ability to both pitch and hit with young talent, and their loaded farm system, Sasaki could very easily be enticed to the Pacific Northwest, and it would be a match made in heaven.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roki Sasaki rumors: Best fits for star Japanese pitcher