Report: Rōki Sasaki Won't Sign Contract with Yankees, Mets or Rangers in Free Agency

The New York Yankees have reportedly been informed that star Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki will not be signing with them this offseason, per Jack Curry of YES.

San Francisco Giants general manager Zack Minasian previously told reporters that the San Francisco Giants have also been told that Sasaki will not be signing with them, despite the two sides holding an in-person meeting this winter.

The New York Mets—who were considered "unlikely" to sign Sasaki by early Monday, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic—are out as well:

And finally, the Texas Rangers aren't making the cut:

According to Sammon, Dennis Lin and Andy McCullough of The Athletic, the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Rangers, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays all held in-person meetings with Sasaki. The Dodgers and Padres are considered the favorites to land him, per that report.

Sasaki is arguably the most intriguing remaining free agent available, even if teams are limited to their international bonus pool money when making offers.

The 23-year-old has the potential to be a top starting pitcher at the MLB level, going 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings (18 games) during the 2024 Nippon Professional Baseball season in Japan. He also went 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

As for the Yankees and Mets, the two teams have been at the center of the baseball world this offseason. The Mets made the biggest splash in the sport, signing Juan Soto away from their crosstown rivals on a massive 15-year, $765 million deal. But they also signed Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning to the pitching staff and re-signed Sean Manaea.

The Yankees have pivoted well after the Soto loss, meanwhile, trading for Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz while signing Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt. Signing Sasaki would have further muted the sting of losing Soto.

"He's obviously a tremendous talent," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters in December regarding the talented Japanese starter. "It'd be nice to have Yankee Stadium be his home, but the decision will be up to him. All we can do is share everything and anything that we can about ourselves and what we provide."

Ultimately, their sales pitch to Sasaki didn't convince him to make the move to the Big Apple, with either the Dodgers or Padres now firmly in the driver's seat to land the young ace.