"Roki Sasaki would be No. 3 behind Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto" - Sportscaster believes Japanese free agent will lean towards Cubs over Dodgers
Many believe the new free agent buzz Roki Sasaki will sign with the LA Dodgers, given they already have his fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in their ranks. While some believe he won't because he would then fall behind the two.
Among those believing in the latter are David Kaplan and Gordon Wittenmyer. On his "ReKap" podcast on Wednesday, they discussed how Sasaki being an amateur international free agent wouldn't get better endorsement deals if he plays in the shadow of Dodgers Japanese stars. Kaplan said rather the Cubs, who already have Shota Imanaga, would make a perfect fit.
"When you factor all of that in, he needs to make money in Japan off of endorsements, right? Which is why he may not go to the Dodgers—because he would be number three behind Yamamoto and Ohtani," Kaplan said (6:00 onwards) on his "ReKap" podcast.
"So, yeah, go to another market. I think the Chicago Cubs are a perfect fit. They've shown great success, and players from Japan have had very good experiences here. That's a great way to put it."
Gordan Wittenmyer highlights two other teams better suited for Roki Sasaki
Gordon Wittenmyer slightly disagrees with David Kaplan on the Chicago Cubs being the better team for Roki Sasaki. Wittenmyer points out that even there Sasaki's "going to share the Japanese spotlight with two other guys." Instead, Wittenmyer highlighted two other teams Sasaki should sign with.
"But teams like the Brewers—everybody's in on this guy because, financially, it's irrelevant," Wittenmyer said. "So you're just trying to make your pitch. The Brewers are in on him. If he wants a soft landing, a market that size, a team that's that good—he can wind up in the playoffs, maybe be the difference in the playoffs, and he's the only Japanese guy on the team. Maybe he can maximize that."
However, Wittenmyer did mention that the likelihood for the same is unlikely since the Brewers are not a big brand to pick endorsement deals. In that case, he points out the Atlanta Braves being a good match.
"You want a competitive team, so maybe the Braves are the way to go. He could be the man there. That’s a brand—that’s a national and international brand—and they're going to be a playoff team," Wittenmyer added.
As of now, the Dodgers seem to be the leading contender to bring Sasaki on board.