The Major League Baseball offseason is underway as free agent players begin to speak to new teams ahead of the 2025 season.
Most of the attention has been surrounding New York Yankees star outfielder Juan Soto as he is the biggest name in this year’s free agent class.
One other player who is gaining some popularity is starting pitcher Roki Sasaki who is coming over from Japan to sign as a free agent.
It is believed that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorite to sign Sasaki, but MLB Analyst Trevor May thinks another team could be a good fit for the starting pitcher.
“The team I really want to see him talk to has not even been mentioned, which is the Seattle Mariners,” May said.
Our own @JimBowdenGM says that the #Dodgers may not be the favorites to sign Roki Sasaki.@IamTrevorMay sees the #Mariners as a great fit for the Japanese phenom:#TridentsUp
🔗https://t.co/fGPbvbjGlC pic.twitter.com/kJKzfmdGCQ— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 17, 2024
The Mariners finished the 2024 season with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses which landed them in second place in the American League West.
Although the Mariners finished with a winning record, they missed the postseason for the second straight year, and they have only made the playoffs once in the last 23 seasons.
Sasaki pitched 18 games for his team overseas in 2024 and had a record of 10 wins and five losses with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched.
Although the Mariners have not been mentioned to be in talks with Sasaki, May thinks that they would be a good fit and allow Sasaki to both gain popularity and develop as a pitcher.
The Mariners will look to win the American League West for the first time since 2001 as they navigate their options in the free agent class.
