Latest Roki Sasaki update doesn't bode well for Tigers' pursuit in free agency

Roki Sasaki is the last major free agent starter left on the board, as 2024 offered massive contracts (and new homes) for Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Max Fried. Pitchers in the mid-tier have also gone quickly — Luis Severino, Walker Buehler, Sean Manaea, Yusei Kikuchi, and so on have all figured out where they'll play in 2025.

Sasaki is an exceptional case. He was posted during Winter Meetings, opening a window for signing that closes on Jan. 23, but he can't sign until Jan. 15, when the international free agency period restarts and all 30 teams' bonus pool money resets.

The Tigers have made their interest in Sasaki clear, given that he might be the most exciting talent to come out of Japan since Shohei Ohtani and — maybe more importantly for Detroit — he'd come incredibly inexpensive.

They were always going to have to compete with the heavy hitters like the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Padres, but because he can only receive bonus pool money, the scope for Sasaki's market has widened to even small- and mid-market teams.

Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reported that 20 teams had sent materials to Sasaki, but only around seven have had in-person meetings with him. The Tigers aren't one of them, and they're still "waiting to hear back" even after he's gone back to Japan to regroup and consider his options.

Tigers still "waiting to hear back" from Roki Sasaki as clock ticks on his signing window

The 10 teams that haven't approached Sasaki probably won't advertise their seats on the sidelines, and for good reason. Their fanbases would (rightfully) rip them to shreds for failing to chase a young, low-cost international phenom.

Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe has been sending some mixed and rather confusing messages about what his client is looking for in a team. He may be inclined to go to a smaller market team to start his career; he may not be swayed by the presence of other Japanese players; he may not want to join a club with a large national media presence. But the Dodgers are still widely thought of as frontrunners despite all of those supposed odds being stacked against them.

It's also been said Sasaki would be inclined to go to a team with a demonstrated ability to develop young talent, and the Tigers' Opening Day starter will be the reigning AL Cy Young winner. They also have the maximum allotment of bonus pool money in 2025.

But it's not exactly promising that Sasaki didn't request a meeting and basically left the Tigers on read before returning to Japan. There's nothing they can do now but wait and hope to hear back, though, and maybe try to squeeze a meeting in during those precious eight days between the start of the international signing period and the end of Sasaki's free agency window.