Red Sox Scouting Japanese Pitching Phenom

After missing out on the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes last offseason, the Boston Red Sox could still be looking to Japan to bolster their starting rotation.

Per Francys Romero, the Red Sox were one of four MLB clubs that sent top executives to Japan in September to see phenom Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki turns 23 next month and already has four professional seasons under his belt in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In 64 career NPB games with the Chiba Lotte Marines, the right-handed hurler has held opponents to a 2.10 ERA and a 0.894 WHIP while striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings.

In April 2022, a 20-year-old Sasaki threw a perfect game with 19 strikeouts – including striking out 13 consecutive batters. In his next start, he picked up right where he left off, pitching eight perfect innings with 14 strikeouts before he was pulled to protect his arm.

Sasaki’s fastball velocity turned heads when he represented his country in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In an April 2023 game, Sasaki had four pitches clocked at 102.5 MPH.

Romero continued to state that Sasaki is unlikely to be posted this offseason. For NBP players to come to the United States, they need to either accrue nine years of service time in the NBP and become an international free agent, or the player can request their NBP club to post them.

The posting system allows the players to negotiate with MLB teams, and the NPB club receives a posting fee. For example, the Orix Buffaloes received $50.625 million when Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.

Sasaki requested Chiba Lotte to post him last offseason, but the Marines declined that request. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, this left the relationship between Sasaki and the Marines somewhat fractured. Quite simply, the phenom’s MLB availability is completely dependent on Chiba Lotte’s willingness to honor Sasaki’s request to be posted.

The Red Sox do have a history of signing some high-profile NPB players. When the Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $52 million deal in Dec. 2006, Matsuzaka was one of the most coveted free agents ever. In Dec. 2022, Boston signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract. Yoshida’s contract has drawn a significant amount of criticism as he hasn’t quite lived up to that contract and has been frequently linked to trades.

The Red Sox pursued last offseason’s superstar Japanese pitcher – Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto ultimately agreed to a historic 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Boston currently has five starting pitchers under team control for next season. Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito both have deals for 2025, while Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are arbitration-eligible. Garrett Whitlock is also under contract, but he could be reverted to a reliever. Red Sox rookie Richard Fitts impressed in 20.1 innings at the end of the season and could be in the mix. Notably, Boston starter Nick Pivetta will enter this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

The New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Los Angeles Dodgers were the other three teams that Romero identified as traveling to Japan for Sasaki.