San Francisco Giants Predicted to Sign Japanese Star Roki Sasaki

The San Francisco Giants have a lot of work to do this winter on multiple fronts. However, with an expected budget that won’t rival the top spenders in Major League Baseball, the Giants might have a tough time signing any of the top players available.

Nearly every big-name free agent is expected to land a multi-year contract with a high AAV.

And then there’s Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki will be posted in the new year and can’t sign a big deal due to international rules. Japanese players have been attracted to the West Coast in recent offseasons, making this a potential pairing.

That doesn’t mean Sasaki will be like the rest and sign with a California team, but it’s been a selling point for teams on the West Coast.

There’s reason to believe he could want to play in San Francisco, too. The Giants are one of the most prominent brands in Major League Baseball, they seem to want to improve after the front-office moves they made, and Oracle Park is heaven for a pitcher.

Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com believes it’s a real possibility he ends up in San Francisco. He predicted the right-hander would sign with them over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who some have considered the favorites in the Sasaki sweepstakes.

“The Dodgers already made a splash to bring in Blake Snell, so Sasaki goes to the pitcher’s park to the north in California,” he wrote.

The Giants will have some work to do to persuade him. This free agency isn’t as easy as handing him a $300 million deal and walking away. Sasaki will have every other factor, aside from money, to help him decide.

There’s optimism when it comes to Oracle Park and it’s something San Francisco needs to sell. If he wants to eventually be paid like one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball, having elite numbers at Oracle would help him with that.

Sasaki is good enough to come in and dominate, no matter where he plays, but his numbers could be drastically different depending on the park.

As of now, it remains uncertain where he’ll go. Grant Brisbee of The Athletic believes the Giants have a chance, although he added that others could have a better chance.

“A better chance than some. A much worse chance than some of the other teams who will pursue him, though. It’s easy to look at this as a Dodgers-Padres battle, but there are plenty of teams that might appeal to him,” he wrote.

Given San Francisco’s budget, he’s the top target this winter. Landing him as an international free agent would require a quality sales job by new president of baseball operations Buster Posey. But it would also be a coup for his new regime in his first offseason running the front office.