DALLAS — It was naturally intriguing when Joel Wolfe, the agent for international superstar pitcher Roki Sasaki, spoke on a stage Tuesday inside the Hilton Anatole.
Although many in the baseball industry have speculated Sasaki could be a lock to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wolfe struck a different tone as he spoke about possible destinations for Sasaki, the star client whose 45-day signing window officially opened Tuesday.
“I think that there’s an argument to be made that a smaller, mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he’s been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the media,” Wolfe said. “It might be. I’m not saying it will be. I don’t know how he’s going to view it, but it might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market.”
Wolfe alluded multiple times to the criticism Sasaka has endured from the Japanese press. He also said he hasn’t had an indication of Sasaki being dead set on playing for a West Coast team. The Tigers, meanwhile, hoped signing Kenta Maeda last winter could serve as a ground floor for becoming a more desirable destination for international players.
“I don’t know specifically if him and Maeda have a relationship,” Wolfe said. “I don’t think they would have crossed paths, so it would have been just direct communication. He’s not mentioned that to me.”
The Tigers, though, may be in on this hunt. Normally tight-lipped regarding free agents, Detroit president of baseball operations Scott Harris was frank regarding the team’s interest in Sasaki.
“Every team in baseball wants Sasaki,” Harris said from his hotel suite Tuesday evening. “We do, too. We’re hard at work on a presentation to position this organization as appealing to Roki and his agent. It’s gonna be a pretty fierce competition, and we’re at work to make our case, and we’ll see how it goes. But yeah, consider us interested in Sasaki.”
Like every baseball executive, Scott Harris would relish the opportunity to add Roki Sasaki. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
The rules surrounding Sasaki’s posting get complicated, but Sasaki will be well within the Tigers’ financial reach. Because he is classified as an international amateur, teams will only be able to sign Sasaki with money from their international bonus pools. That means every team will have somewhere between about $5 million and $7.5 million with which to pursue Sasaki. The Tigers are one of eight teams with the highest 2025 bonus pool allotment of $7,555,500.
One important note: Sasaki’s signing is also bound to generate controversy because it may cause teams to break their unofficial agreements with other international amateurs. The Tigers, for instance, are expected to honor their handshake agreement with Cris Rodriguez, a well-regarded outfielder from the Dominican Republic, who will likely sign with a bonus of more than $3 million. That would theoretically take up a significant chunk of what the Tigers could offer to Sasaki, making what seems like a long-shot pairing even more unlikely.
Still, it is rare to hear the Tigers talk about interest in a player so openly.
They respect Sasaki’s ability, and they seem set on attempting to sign the Japanese star.
“I have not seen him in person,” Harris said. “I’ve seen many of his starts on video. He’s really good. I’ll leave it at that.”
Tigers otherwise set on starting pitching
Detroit’s agreement with right-hander Alex Cobb became official Tuesday evening. Cobb comes to Detroit on a one-year, $15 million deal. He will receive an additional $1 million if he pitches at least 140 innings and will receive another $1 million if his innings total reaches 150. At a maximum of $17 million for an oft-injured, 37-year-old pitcher, the Tigers’ deal with Cobb again reflects the high prices on the pitching market.
And aside from their interest in Sasaki, the Tigers are likely done pursuing additional starting pitchers. They will enter spring training with an excess of potential back-end starters and do not intend to move anyone to the bullpen until spring training competitions play out.
“I think we’re probably set, at least for the time being,” Detroit general manager Jeff Greenberg said. “I think we were operating from a position of strength in our rotation given Tarik (Skubal), Reese (Olson), now Alex, and we have seven or eight additional guys on our roster, some of whom obviously stepped up toward the end of last year, some of whom have a little more experience. But I feel like we have quality, we have depth. Alex raises our ceiling. He raises our floor, as well. That’s not to say we won’t look for additional opportunities as they present themselves, but I think we’re in a pretty solid spot right now.”
Assuming the Tigers are indeed done and do not land Sasaki, their Opening Day rotation could look like this: Skubal, Olson, Cobb, Jackson Jobe and Keider Montero. Jobe cracking the Opening Day roster is no given, and others such as Brant Hurter, Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Ty Madden will also challenge the likes of Montero for a rotation spot.
Akil Baddoo designated for assignment
As the corresponding move for Cobb, the Tigers cleared space on the 40-man roster by designating outfielder Akil Baddoo for assignment.
On the surface, this could mark the end of Baddoo’s tenure with the Tigers. Once a darling Rule 5 pick, Baddoo has only a .619 OPS in the major leagues over the past three years. He hit only .238 with a .736 OPS in Triple A last season.
As a corresponding move for the signing of RHP Alex Cobb, we have designated OF Akil Baddoo for assignment.
Our 40-man roster is now at 40.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) December 11, 2024
But the fact the Tigers initially tendered Baddoo a contract could bode well for his chances of remaining in the organization. Had he been non-tendered, he would have immediately become a free agent. Now, the Tigers would retain Baddoo and outright him to the minor leagues in the event he clears waivers.
“I told Akil when I talked to him that I’d like to find a way to keep him, but I understand he may find a roster spot in another organization,” Harris said. “It’s not really a criticism of Akil. It’s more an acknowledgment that our 40-man is more talented than it has been in recent years.”
The Tigers still aren’t sure when Javier Báez will be fully recovered from his early September hip surgery. But as manager A.J. Hinch framed it, Báez’s recovery is so far going well.
“He’s been very diligent in his work and very diligent in his rehab process,” Hinch said. “He hasn’t had a misstep or he hasn’t had anything that gives us doubt or pause that he’s not going to be fully healthy when the time comes. I don’t know when that is, and I don’t know what he’s going to be able to give us as we get into the spring. We’ll know a little bit more, but I’ve been very proud of his communication, his diligence and the program he’s on is giving him the best chance to get back being healthy.”
Hinch said Báez has bounced between Tampa and Puerto Rico so far this offseason. The Tigers have sent members of the training staff to see Báez in Puerto Rico. With three years and $73 million left on his contract, the Tigers are obviously desperate to get more palatable production from Báez in 2025.
“It’s a long rehab process,” Hinch said, “and that’s why we’re all anxious to see how he comes out of it physically with the hip and hopefully alleviates the back issues that he’s talked a lot about.”
Tigers catcher Jake Rogers made the rounds at the Winter Meetings Tuesday. Rogers lives about 10 minutes away from the Hilton Anatole. After getting lunch with Hinch a couple of days ago, Rogers spent Tuesday afternoon at the Hilton, meeting with both the Tigers and his Ballengee Group agents.
After being worth 2.2 fWAR and serving as a Gold Glove finalist this past year, Rogers is entering his second year of arbitration. Ever curious, Rogers is unlike many players who leave the business of arbitration solely to their agents. He’s instead taken ownership and interest in the process. Rogers is projected to make somewhere around $2.5 million next season.
“I’m pretty involved in it,” Rogers said. “Me and my agent have talked over the last few weeks. … We’re going to meet tonight and go over numbers again.”
(Top photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun via Associated Press)
