After Roki Sasaki was released by the Chiba Lotte Marines on December 10, his agent, Joel Wolfe, wrote a letter to all 30 Major League Baseball teams asking them to “submit any information verifying Roki.” should”.

The response was great: 20 teams showed interest.

Each team that met with Sasaki was given “homework” that allowed Sasaki to assess how each organization would approach analyzing and communicating information with him. The specific details of this assignment were not disclosed, but its purpose was clear: to give Sasaki insight into how the teams worked and how they would support his development.

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“Without giving the specific details of this task,” Wolfe explained, “each team was given the exact same task, and it allowed them to demonstrate how they could analyze information and communicate with him and really showed where he came from comes.” Analysis and creation of his selection criteria when considering different teams.

Although there was considerable speculation that the bid for Sasaki could ultimately be limited to the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, Wolfe emphasized that Sasaki prioritized fairness throughout the process. “A level playing field” was a key consideration for the young pitcher. To ensure this, the first meetings were held under certain conditions: each meeting was limited to two hours and took place in Wasserman’s offices in Los Angeles. This setup allowed Sasaki to meet with teams in a neutral, controlled environment.

Sasaki also made another important request: no current players should attend the meetings in person. This decision meant that any recruiting efforts by players like Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto had to be presented via video rather than face-to-face interaction.

“There were a few teams that had video of one or two players, but in most cases it was the general manager, maybe an assistant GM, the manager, the pitching coach and people from biomechanics performance and.” training staff,” Wolfe said.

Sasaki is currently back in Japan, but is expected to return to the United States in January for a second round of meetings with a select group of teams. This will mark the next step in his highly anticipated decision-making process, with Sasaki set to make his final decision between January 15, when the international signing period begins, and January 23, when his posting window closes.

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