The Phillies held a Zoom call for the media Tuesday to introduce reliever Jordan Romano, a day after he agreed to a one-year/$8.5 million deal. Romano talked about what drew him to the Phillies, including a game this past May that the Toronto Blue Jays played at a packed Citizens Bank Park on a Wednesday afternoon.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was not part of the Zoom, as he likely has turned his attention to the next priority for the club, whatever that may be.
As the MLB Winter Meetings continue in Dallas, here's some thoughts on other potential targets for the Phillies.
Why We're Talking About Him: Sasaki's Nippon Professional Baseball team posted him, and MLB teams are now able to begin negotiating with the 23-year-old righty. He's expected to wait until at least Jan. 15, when a new international signing period begins, to pick his new team. He has until 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 23 to reach a deal with an MLB team.
This isn't a case like Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason, though, where teams can bid unlimited amounts of money on Sasaki. As MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan noted, Sasaki is under 25 years old and hasn't played professionally for at least six seasons, which means he's "subject to international bonus pool money restrictions."
Make no mistake, though, Sasaki is one of the most coveted players to ever come from Japan. He has a minuscule 2.02 ERA across 404 2/3 innings pitched in Japan's top league. If he was a true free agent, he would almost certainly top the 12-year/$325 million deal Yamamoto got from the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.
Rōki Sasaki, 92mph Splitter and 102mph Fastball, Individual Pitches + Overlay pic.twitter.com/pSu8cvaW9n
Phillies-Centric Thoughts: It's the worst-kept secret in Philadelphia that the Phillies have never signed a player directly from Japan. So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi are the only Japanese-born players to ever play for the Phillies. Both are now in their 50s. Eventually, the Phillies need to get on the board in the Japanese market.
Beyond that, Sasaki is a 23-year-old with frontline potential that will be tied to whatever team he signs with for six seasons before he can become a free agent.
Interestingly, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported over the weekend that the Phillies — along with the Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets — were "viewed in the industry as among the early favorites to land Sasaki."
Most of those teams are in what you would consider major media markets. But Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, spoke Tuesday and painted a picture of someone he seemed to think might benefit from beginning his MLB career in a smaller market:
Roki Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe says that the media in Japan has been "very tough on him" and that Sasaki has been treated unfairly: "It's affected him mentally, a little bit"
Wolfe adds that Sasaki's dream is to play in MLB pic.twitter.com/W9eWdvry0i
Roki Saski's agent Joel Wolfe:
"I think that there's an argument to be made that a smaller, mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing." pic.twitter.com/KgVz8245gk
Philadelphia is not what you would call a soft landing spot. Opposing teams and media are often taken aback by the amount of press that covers just a run-of-the-mill Monday night game in April at Citizens Bank Park, let alone the postseason. Also, 2019 data from The Pew Research Center says that Los Angeles (No. 2), New York (No. 4), San Diego (No. 7) and Chicago (No. 9) each have among the 10 largest Japanese populations in America. That can sometimes make it easier for a player in a new country to assimilate. Philadelphia is not in the top 10, on top of not really having much history at all to point to in terms of Japanese players.
Still, Sasaki is an incredible prospect. The Phillies owe it to themselves to roll out the red carpet and see if they can attract him.
Why We're Talking About Him: Last week, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that the Cubs were "determined to trade either Cody Bellinger or Seiya Suzuki," as they looked to reallocate money elsewhere on their roster.
With Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field and Ian Happ in left field, it seems one of the two will be moved. Wolfe also represents Suzuki, and had some interesting things to say about his future in Chicago Tuesday:
News: Cubs OF Seiya Suzuki's agent, Joel Wolfe, said Jed Hoyer informed him just last night which teams are interested in him. (He has a full no-trade clause). Wolfe also made it pretty clear Suzuki does not want to be a DH which is where he finished last season: "It's a small…
Seiya Suzuki would consider waiving his full no-trade clause per his agent Joel Wolfe.
Wolfe: Jed Hoyer is very communicative & told him which teams Cubs talk to. "I don't think he wants to trade Seiya but there may be a scenario where he feels he has a deal he can't say no to."
Phillies-Centric Thoughts: Suzuki is a right-handed hitter who has batted .278 with an average of 21 home runs, 74 RBIs and 61 walks over the past two seasons for the Cubs. He did strike out 160 times in 132 games this past season, although that might prove to be a bit of an outlier considering he only fanned 130 times in in 138 games the prior season. Suzuki checks a lot of boxes for the Phillies offensively.
Defensive metrics are a bit divided on Suzuki, as he's posted one defensive run saved and -5 outs above average across parts of three MLB seasons in right field. That's not great, but it's certainly passable. Anyway, Suzuki would likely be asked to play left field for the Phillies, given that Nick Castellanos is comfortable in right field and under contract for two more seasons. At the very least, Suzuki has a strong arm in the outfield:
Nick Castellanos tried to test Seiya Suzuki's arm in right. It did not end the way he hoped. pic.twitter.com/puGO2cHYSG
Suzuki is 30 years old, and is due $38 million over the next two seasons. There are no perfect fits, but Suzuki — who has an .824 OPS over 1,614 career plate appearances — would be about as good of a corner outfield fit as the Phillies could find via trade or free agency. He also would help the Phillies to make inroads in the Japanese market.
The guess here is the Cubs would probably rather offload Bellinger and keep Suzuki. But Bellinger is owed $52.5 million over the next two years, and can opt out after 2025 if he has a big season. If the Cubs aren't willing to eat some money to facilitate a Bellinger trade, they might have a hard time getting what they would deem to be an adequate return for the former NL MVP. Such a problem won't exist with Suzuki.
Whether Suzuki would waive his no-trade clause to come to the Phillies or not is unclear. But it would be a best-case scenario for the Phillies if he did.
Why We're Talking About Him: Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported this Tuesday morning:
The Angels appear to be close to trading an outfielder, per source. Taylor Ward has been generating a lot of interest, so it would not be a surprise if it’s him.
However, to this point a trade involving an Angels outfielder hasn't materialized.
Even if one does, it doesn't appear that it will involve Ward:
Taylor Ward's agent Joel Wolfe said he "called around" and heard nothing about an imminent deal involving Ward.
Phillies-Centric Thoughts: Ward was a popular name to connect to the Phillies last summer as a possible left field solution before Austin Hays was acquired. The Angels ultimately held onto Ward.
Given that the Halos have already acquired Jorge Soler, Travis d'Arnaud, Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks this offseason, it would appear they are intent on trying to contend in 2025, however ridiculous that idea might seem. So this is likely a moot point.
But yes, if Ward is available, the Phillies should absolutely be interested. Ward has an .805 career OPS against left-handed pitching, and certainly isn't unplayable against righties. The 30-year-old has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility before free agency. Acquiring him to play left field — with Brandon Marsh floating between left and center — would make sense.
Where does the #Phillies payroll stand after the Jordan Romano signing? Here's the latest projection.
onpattison.com/news/2024/de...
— Tim Kelly (@timkellysports.bsky.social) December 9, 2024 at 5:52 PM
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