Star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki has told the New York Yankees that he will not be signing with them, a league source confirmed to The Athletic Monday afternoon. The YES Network’s Jack Curry first reported the news.
The Yankees were seemingly among the few potentially serious suitors for the 23-year-old righty, whose fastball touches 100 mph and may be one of the best pitchers to ever come out of Nippon Professional Baseball.
International amateur free agents can sign with teams as early as Wednesday, per Major League Baseball rules. The Yankees will now reserve their international bonus pool allotment of $6,261,600 for other prospects.
The Yankees were among the few teams to meet in person with Sasaki, who went 30-15 with a 2.02 ERA over parts of five seasons in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
The San Francisco Giants were also among the teams told Monday they would not be signing Sasaki. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres appear the heavy favorites to land Sasaki.
Last week, Sasaki visited with the Toronto Blue Jays and he spent time in San Diego with the Padres over the weekend, The Athletic reported.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, has said he expects Sasaki to sign between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23. The last high-profile free agent to sign with the Yankees out of Japan remains righty Masahiro Tanaka, who took a seven-year, $155-million deal before the 2014 season. Sasaki was said to have been a big Tanaka fan growing up.
(Top photo of Roki Sasaki: Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
