If you have never heard the name Roki Sasaki, you will. And you won’t have to wait too long to hear it. This off-seasons biggest name will be a 23 year old 6’2″ fireballer that’s never thrown a pitch in the majors. Never faced a major league hitter in the states. He’s never had to adjust to seeing a Juan Soto for a second series. He’s never had to look over his shoulder to make sure Elly De La Cruz doesn’t take too big of a lead off 1st. But he will be the most sought after free agent on the market all the same, make no mistake about that.
And the Pittsburgh Pirates should absolutely be all in on Roki Sasaki. Yes, you read that correctly. The Pirates, owned by the cheap one, Robert Nutting should be all in on Roki Sasaki.
We could fill these pages talking about the big right arm. I could talk about how his four-seam fast ball that tops out at 102 MPH. That it plays up in the zone. That it averages 99-96 MPH. Or what about the slider? One of his three pitches the slider has a WHIFF rate of only 47%(this is sarcasm). And we still haven’t even talked about his splitter. That offering has a 57% WHIFF rate, the pitch drops off the table faster than my poor meatball, all covered with cheese. Simply put. The. Kid. Is. Good.
Look, if you’re reading this I’m guessing you know exactly who Sasaki is. And that’s why you clicked on it to give it a read. Also, thank you for stopping in.
And boy oh boy, is the sound of your eyes rolling at me deafening. I can hear some of you yelling at the screen,
“it’s never going to happen..”
“Nutting is too cheap for that”.
“Why would Sasaki even consider coming here”?
And ya know what? You aren’t wrong.
But guess what. Neither am I. Hopefully you give me a few paragraphs to prove it.
Let’s start with the most obvious talking point.
“Nutting is too cheap”.
Normally this is a point that could not be argued. In just about any other situation Robert Nutting could not afford a 23 year old staring pitcher that will be the off-season’s biggest prize, and let’s be frank, he wouldn’t even try.
But this isn’t “normally”. Sasaki played in the Nippon Baseball League and will be subject to the MLB/NBL posting system. In the Japanese posting system there are two types of posts to consider.
There’s the Yoshinobo Yamamoto type. Meaning if an international player is over 25 with at least 6 years of experience they become a free agent through the posting system. A lot to sort through with all that so feel free to check on the MLB/NPB highlighted above.
The result of him qualifying for that got him a 12 year 325 million dollar contract with the LA Dodgers, coincidentally they are the hands-on favorite to land Sasaki. We can all agree this kind of deal isn’t happening for a team owned by the baseball version of Scrooge McDuck. (side note, I would love to see that kind of deal for Paul Skenes but I’m not holding my breath)
Sasaki will NOT qualify for that type of post. Instead the 23 year Roki will be subject to the international bonus pool money. Here’s where it gets a little tricky. Teams are assigned a bonus pool and they cannot spend more than that pool. They can add to their pools by acquiring other teams slots. But that’s it. It’s capped.
Without getting lost in too much minutia, this year teams are split into five different bonus pools.
$7.5M, $6.9M, $6.2M, $5.6M and $5.1M. Our beloved Pirates are in that second pool of $6.9M. Money simply wont be the main factor in signing the young right hander, but more about that later. Let us for now stick with the “cheap Nutting” bullet point. Upon signing the deal Sasaki will be a low budget controlled player for years.
If Nutting wants to operate like a small market team with small budget constraints but big league expectations and dreams then being in on Roki Sasaki should be an absolute must. Deals, or should we say actual bargains like this are exactly what he should be looking at on a yearly basis and he should be doing it with an all hands on deck approach. There’s a difference in being cheap and being frugal and it’s about time Nutting learned the difference. There, I said it.
Next point, “Why would Sasaki want to come here”?
Ever been really hungry late at night and the fridge is basically empty? But you keep getting up and reopening that fridge and staring in it just hoping that leftover pizza appears out of nowhere?
That’s how I felt trying to find some answers on this. I kept opening that fridge and seeing the reasons Sasaki won’t even consider coming to Pittsburgh. I bet your list checks a lot of the same boxes as mine.
-cheap owner
-losing orginazation
-3 playoff appearances in 30 some seasons
I mean the list goes on and on. But then I tried the freezer and ya know what? Jackpot frozen pizza!
Consider-
The best Ball Park in the MLB. PNC Park.
How about the city has celebrated many international players. We really do seem to go all in on the guys not born in the states. Could it be because we rooted for one of the all time greats, Roberto Clemente?
But even beyond him. Jung Ho Kang, this town was swept away with Kang fever. Starling Marte “Parte”. Gregory “El coffee” Polanco. Coming to Pittsburgh could absolutely translate into additional deals being the face of a local car dealership. Or perhaps the voice of some local furniture company. The point is he’d be a local icon three seconds after agreeing to a deal.
My final selling point to Roki Sasaki to come put on for the fine people of our city? And I think this would be the most enticing point?
Being part of perhaps the most hyped under 25 rotation in the history of the a game? 23 year old Paul Skenes. 23 year old Jared Jones. 22 year old Bubba Chandler and add in 23 year old Roki Sasaki? Are you kidding me? If there’s a rival to this group I certainly can’t think of it. Even without Sasaki this will be one the most celebrated young rotations since the Braves of the 90’s. Does that equate to results? No, but I know where I’d place my bet. How ’bout you?
The only thing I can say about all of this is that Robert Nutting should 110% without doubt, without pause and no excuses should be all in on Roki Sasaki. Even if Mr. Nutting is beyond certain that his team stands no shot at even getting an in person meeting it just cannot stop him from doing everything he can to get that meeting.
How far should he go? If I was the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates I would grab Derek Shelton, Oscar Marin, Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler and jump on a private jet to Japan. And I wouldn’t leave until his manager arranged a meeting with the young protege.
I’d personally call his agent every damn day until they filed for a restraining order.
The one thing he simply can’t do is sit this one out. I don’t know if being all in on Roki and still missing out on him would be good or bad for Nutting. I do, however know the team desperately needs a PR win. Going after the kid would look great. Not going after him at all? Would be derelict of duty and honestly, for a dude that already has a few billboards telling him what he should do with the team scattered around the city? Let’s just say that wouldn’t help him win any popularity contests any time in the near future.
Make the damn call Robert.
Steel City Pirates 