The Chicago Cubs were a strong contender to sign international free agent star pitcher Roki Sasaki, but ultimately he unsurprisingly chose the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the aftermath, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer described Sasaki’s decision as “disappointing” but he was proud of the effort put into pursuing him.
Roki Sasaki is joining an already elite Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation
Jed Hoyer’s words “disappointing” can be echoed by almost any baseball fan that isn’t cheering for the Dodgers. Over the past few off-seasons, the reigning 2024 World Series champions have been the most aggressive team in acquiring talent through both trade and free agency, while also handing out lucrative deals/contract extensions with deferred payments well into the future. For them to add Sasaki to a starting rotation that already has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Tony Gonsolin only intensifies the amount of star talent they have.
Jed Hoyer comments on the Chicago Cubs not landing Roki Sasaki
Jesse Rogers at ESPN reported on Hoyer’s thoughts as to not signing Sasaki. Along with being disappointed, Hoyer said, “We put a lot of time and effort into it. 1000’s of man hours in presentations. I could not be more proud of the way we presented. That part went really well. Honored that we made it to the eight teams he met with.”
What’s next for the Cubs?
Now that Sasaki has signed, the Cubs have begun signing international free agents as this year they landed two prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 15. Hoyer has additionally mentioned that they wont be pursuing starting pitching, unless an opportunity arises, but are heavily pursing relief pitchers/closers. Reports have indicated that Chicago is a top contender to land Tanner Scott, with him likely choosing a destination as soon as this weekend.
The Chicago Cubs are reportedly a top contender to sign a closer who had a stellar 1.75 ERA last year
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