The Seattle Mariners and all 29 other teams began Winter Meetings on Dec. 9 and will continue to meet through Dec. 12th in Dallas.
The Juan Soto sweepstakes ended the night before the meetings started, with the New York Mets winning out on his services with a record 15-year, $765 million deal.
Now that the race for Soto is over, a lot of the attention in the offseason will be spent on who will land Japanese phenom and potential ace pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Sasaki was posted on the day Winter Meetings started. Sasaki has a 45-day window to negotiate with teams, but will not sign a contract until the 2025 international signing period starts on Jan. 15.
Per a report from Francys Romero, Sasaki and agent Joel Wolfe are expected to meet with interested MLB teams as early as Dec. 15, three days after Winter Meetings end.
Due to his age (23 years-old), Sasaki is only eligible for a minor league deal. He, and the Nippon Professional Baseball team that posted him, the Chiba Lotte Marines, will earn the most money through the signing bonus. The signing pool resets for teams after the 2025 period opens.
The Mariners are one of the few teams with the max amount of signing pool money ($7.6 million). They can add 60% of that on top of the money they already have for a potential bonus pool of $12.16 million.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have been viewed as the favorites to land Sasaki since the news broke that he would be posted. But Seattle is also reportedly preparing a pitch for the NPB’s record holder for single-game strikeouts.
If the Mariners sign the former World Baseball Classic gold medalist, they would add him to what was arguably the best starting rotation in baseball last season.
Seattle could opt for a six-man rotation with Sasaki to preserve the health of the starting pitchers. They could also be more willing to trade a starter to land an elite bat.
Based on when Sasaki was posted, he’ll have until Jan. 23 to agree to terms with an MLB team. That much time might open the door for some unexpected developments in the negotiations.