The Texas Rangers are one of the top candidates for the next Japanese phenom, but how meaningful are they as a landing spot?
MLB’s Mike Petriello recently compiled a list of top landing spots for upcoming star Loki Sasaki, considering how much each team needs his talent.
On this scale, Petriello beats the Rangers all the way, six of seven. The only team below them is the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Texas has a strong sell, being a recent World Series champion who once succeeded in persuading Yu Darvish to sign with Texas. But the pursuit of Sasaki is more in the future than now. ‘ said the author.
The main reason was that Texas already seemed to be in a good spot with its pitching staff and there was no clear spot where Sasaki could fit in without potentially harming someone’s contribution or development.
There are six Rangers pitchers who have undermined the need for Sasaki: Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Tyler Mar, Jack Reiter, and Kumar Locker.
It should be a solid staff with a solid combination of veterans and young players.
If deGrom can finally put together another healthy campaign, he could still be a Cy Young candidate. If Leiter can build off an eventful debut season, he could become a solid back-end star this year.
All of these pitchers can certainly make a huge contribution to baseball’s success next season, but none can offer anything comparable to Sasaki. He’s not only the immediate answer as an ace, but also potentially a long-term ace.
The 23-year-old already has a career 2.02 ERA in 414.2 innings pitched at Japanese baseball’s highest level. That’s an undeniable accomplishment and would be a welcome addition to the MLB rotation.
He has excellent pitch control and strikes out at a high rate. There are very few holes in his game, at least on paper.
It’s true that Texas doesn’t need to sign Sasaki, but it would be foolish not to at least try. It also doesn’t mean there will be fewer candidates who can actually pull it off.
