Getty Roki Sasaki
After the pursuit of Juan Soto, most of the Boston Red Sox offseason speculation has focused on how the club plans to upgrade its starting rotation. On their way to an 81-81 season, their highest win total since 2021, the Red Sox saw inconsistent results from their starting staff, with only one starter, Tanner Houck, posting an ERA below 4.00.
Righty Kutter Crawford was the staff workhorse, reliably making all 33 starts he was called upon to make, and leading the team with 183 2/3 innings pitched. But while Crawford led the way in terms of quantity, the quality of his performance left something to be desired. He surrendered a league-leading 34 home runs, including one alarming stretch from July 21 to August 7 when Crawford allowed 13 home runs over just four starts and 18 2/3 innings.
Crawford also led the league in losses with 16, against nine wins. Righty Brayan Bello led the staff in wins with 14 while losing eight. But it was a struggle to get there. Bello’s ERA came in at a mediocre 4.49 and his WHIP of 1.361 wasn’t any more impressive.
Red Sox in Market for a True Number One
The bottom line was that the Red Sox simply lacked a true “Number One,” a top-of-the-rotation starter who gives the team a chance to win every time he takes the mound. The Red Sox have been linked to the top free agents on the market, including former Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried and Baltimore Orioles righty Corbin Burnes, among others.
But there is one free agent pitcher who may, in fact, be the best arm available even though he has never thrown an MLB pitch — and technically speaking, he isn’t even a free agent yet.
That pitcher is 23-year-old Roki Sasaki, who has pitched the first four seasons of his professional career with The Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League. He also pitched on the 2023 World Baseball Classic-winning Japan national team. In that tournament, Sasaki won one game in two starts, striking out 11 while giving up three earned runs in 7 2/3 innings.
His fastball, according to an MLB.com scouting report, rates a “70” on the scouting scale that ranges from 20 to 80, and “depending on when you saw it, it might get the rarely spotted 80.” Sasaki’s fastball has been clocked as high as 102 mph.
Why Boston Might Attract Roki Sasaki
Sasaki will not be officially posted by his Japanese team until January. That step will make him available to sign with any Major League club, but the Red Sox along with at least a half-dozen other teams have reportedly expressed interest. According to an analysis of his market by MLB.com, Boston ranks among the top destinations for Sasaki, not necessarily for baseball reasons but because the city would give Sasaki plenty of marketing opportunities.
“In New York, Sasaki would be battling not only Yankees superstar Aaron Judge — and possibly Juan Soto, pending his free agent decision — but also the crosstown rival Mets and their superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor for the spotlight,” the MLB.com analysis stated. “But Boston presents a major market — and plenty of opportunity.”
But Baseball America was not as optimistic from a Red Sox perspective, rating Boston only the seventh most likely destination for Sasaki, out of what the publication believes are seven possible teams in contention for his services.
Once the Marines make Sasaki’s posting official, he will have 45 days to finalize a contract with a Major League organization. But because Sasaki has played fewer than six professional seasons, he will be subject to rules that limit bonuses payed to international players, meaning his overall contract will probably not reach the heights of current Major League free agents.
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