Yankees ready to make pitch for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki

DALLAS — The Yankees, too, have been preparing for Roki Sasaki. Club scouts and GM Brian Cashman himself have flown to Japan to get a look at the young star pitcher, who officially was posted this week so he can join a big league team next season. The Yankees already have prepped a virtual presentation, Cashman said, that will represent Step 1 of what they hope is several steps toward landing a pitcher who will garner interest from all 30 teams.Teams submit their pitches to Sasaki, who then will take meetings with contenders.

Getting posted opened a 45-day window in which Sasaki can sign, which will not happen until at least Jan.15. Because the 23-year-old is treated as an international amateur, he is only eligible to sign for the money in teams’ international free-agency pools — a potential ace who can be grabbed for just a few million dollars. “It’s a big arm with a big desire to be great,” Cashman said Wednesday from the Winter Meetings.

“His intent is to be one of the game’s greatest pitchers on the planet, and we certainly would love to participate in allowing that to happen.” The Dodgers, who already feature Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in their rotation, are seen as the favorites.The Padres are a contender in part because of Sasaki’s relationship with Yu Darvish.

Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said Tuesday that Masahiro Tanaka was one of Sasaki’s baseball idols growing up.  Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Cashman declined to reveal whether he would call in Tanaka to help with the club’s pitch.

He did mention positive experiences with Tanaka, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda in selling the organization. “This is a tremendous place to play,” Cas...