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The Roki Sasaki winter is upon us. It just so happens to also be the winter of Scott Boras' empire defense. Plus, we catch you up on the last week of news, and can we finally be done with this Diamond Sports saga? (Maybe!) I'm Levi Weaver; Ken Rosenthal is off today. Welcome to The Windup!
It seemed unlikely, all things considered, that Roki Sasaki -- the "Monster of the Reiwa Era" -- would be posted this winter. After all, at 23 years of age, he would have made a lot more money if he had waited a couple of years and come over as a "professional" international signing instead of an "amateur."
Well, it's happening. And given the "amateur" status, every team can -- at least, in theory -- afford to try.
Sasaki had already begun to rise to prominence before the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but that was where many fans first saw the 6-4 hurler slinging triple-digit heat for the Japanese team that ultimately triumphed.
His numbers are silly:
As for the arsenal, it's a killer fastball and a filthy sinker. Eno Sarris can give you the full breakdown, but -- spoiler -- Sasaki's velo was down a bit last year. That might dampen the hype a little, but it's not going to be enough to scare anyone off, given the relatively inexpensive price point.
So ... where will he land? According to Will Sammon's "which teams to watch" article, "Sasaki will likely prioritize stability, lifestyle, comfort and, according to league sources, a team's track record with player development."
Of course, the eye-rolls and moans of "probably the Dodgers" have been ubiquitous around the league, but that's not necessarily the outcome. Could it be the Cubs, Giants, Padres or Red Sox? Some other team?
We'll find out, but probably not soon. Teams' international signing bonus pool budgets reset on Jan. 15 (after a monthlong break). Right now, much of the league has already burned through theirs on (mostly) Latin American prospects. Waiting a bit would certainly increase the potential signing bonus.
Which -- recent track record considered -- might not matter to Sasaki at all.
Ken is out today, and we were off for Veterans Day, so let's use his section to catch up, quick-hit style, on a few of the biggest news headlines of the last week:
Later today in Houston, a hearing will begin that (we think) could conclude the long-running saga of Diamond Sports' bankruptcy proceedings. It might not be done and dusted by tonight, but it should be before our next Windup on Monday.
A quick catch-up: "Bally Sports" no longer exists. The title sponsor is now FanDuel. In the lead-up to the hearing, they have locked in six teams for broadcast in 2025: the Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Marlins and -- as of yesterday -- the Rays and Tigers. We still don't know if the Royals will join that roster; talks are "ongoing."
It's not great news for fans, necessarily. As Evan Drellich reports:
"The Cardinals newly granted in-market streaming rights to Diamond, as did the Angels. Diamond already had those rights for the Marlins, Rays and Tigers. That means those teams can be watched via a standalone subscription Diamond will sell via its own platform and also through Amazon Prime (but at additional cost on top of Prime's standard fee)."
Three other teams who were with Diamond last year -- the Brewers, Guardians and Twins -- have licensed their streaming rights directly to MLB, and can be streamed in-market with no blackouts. Two others -- the Rangers and Reds -- currently have no home.
We'll hopefully have something more definitive on Monday. It would be super nice to never have to talk about this again after that.
Let's just say it: Last year was a bust for Scott Boras. The "Boras Four" -- Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery -- each signed for fewer years and dollars than anyone expected, and the deals were signed late enough that it's fair to speculate that they impacted the players' performance in 2024.
For some, that was enough to start shoveling dirt on the career of the most successful agent in the sport's history.
Was that premature? Maybe. But as Andy McCullough writes, this winter will be a bit of a test for the mega-agent. After all, Boras represents the top two free agents of this year's class (Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes), and represents half of the top 16 free agents on our big board. That's not unusual. What would be is a second consecutive year of Boras clients falling short of their projected contracts.
The first risk didn't exactly pan out, with Gerrit Cole opting out of his deal with the Yankees -- ostensibly to force New York to add another year on the back end -- only to end up rescinding that opt-out two days later.
Make no mistake, Boras is still the biggest name in the game. But as the great band Elbow reminds us: "Empires crumble all the time."
This winter will be an interesting one to follow. The work has already begun, with Mets owner Steve Cohen flying to L.A. for a meeting this week and a Yankees delegation set to follow next week.
Wanna start from scratch? Well, it would be really expensive, but Chad Jennings has a blueprint, with his All-Free-Agent Team.
The Astros have indicated that re-signing Alex Bregman is their top priority, but what if he goes elsewhere? Here are some backup plans.
It's not really news, given the moves they've made already, but the Cardinals are saying it out loud now: They're leaning into the youth movement.
The Diamondbacks are apparently getting some interest in their starting pitching depth. Call me crazy, but I have to think Jordan Montgomery won't be long for Arizona.
In collectibles: You know about the "big" rookie cards, but this examination of Babe Ruth's lesser-known rookie card is truly fascinating. Also: Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball gets an exalted perch, and Debut Patches are fueling a frenzy.