The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s daily MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.
The Roki Sasaki winter is upon us. It just so happens to also be the winter of Scott Boras’ empire defense. Plus, we catch you up on the last week of news, and can we finally be done with this Diamond Sports saga? (Maybe!) I’m Levi Weaver; Ken Rosenthal is off today. Welcome to The Windup!
Big Deals: Sasaki to be posted
It seemed unlikely, all things considered, that Roki Sasaki — the “Monster of the Reiwa Era” — would be posted this winter. After all, at 23 years of age, he would have made a lot more money if he had waited a couple of years and come over as a “professional” international signing instead of an “amateur.”
Well, it’s happening. And given the “amateur” status, every team can — at least, in theory — afford to try.
Sasaki had already begun to rise to prominence before the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but that was where many fans first saw the 6-4 hurler slinging triple-digit heat for the Japanese team that ultimately triumphed.
His numbers are silly:
- Sasaki has a career line of 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 505 strikeouts against 88 walks in 394 2/3 innings.
- He has allowed 15 home runs, total. That’s 0.3 HR/9.
As for the arsenal, it’s a killer fastball and a filthy sinker. Eno Sarris can give you the full breakdown, but — spoiler — Sasaki’s velo was down a bit last year. That might dampen the hype a little, but it’s not going to be enough to scare anyone off, given the relatively inexpensive price point.
So … where will he land? According to Will Sammon’s “which teams to watch” article, “Sasaki will likely prioritize stability, lifestyle, comfort and, according to league sources, a team’s track record with player development.”
Of course, the eye-rolls and moans of “probably the Dodgers” have been ubiquitous around the league, but that’s not necessarily the outcome. Could it be the Cubs, Giants, Padres or Red Sox? Some other team?
We’ll find out, but probably not soon. Teams’ international signing bonus pool budgets reset on Jan. 15 (after a monthlong break). Right now, much of the league has already burned through theirs on (mostly) Latin American prospects. Waiting a bit would certainly increase the potential signing bonus.
Which — recent track record considered — might not matter to Sasaki at all.
Bullpen Call: News from around the league
Ken is out today, and we were off for Veterans Day, so let’s use his section to catch up, quick-hit style, on a few of the biggest news headlines of the last week:
- MLB has now announced the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winners (including first-time Gold Glove winners Bobby Witt Jr. and Carlos Santana), the lists of three finalists for each of the major BBWAA awards have been released and the All-MLB team will be announced later today (though Jim Bowden has taken his crack at it already).
- Angels shortstop Zach Neto could miss the start of the 2025 season after shoulder surgery. Per Sam Blum, “Angels GM Perry Minasian declined to say what the injury was, or what procedure he received,” which has become a fun little trend in Anaheim.
- Speaking of the Angels, they have made a few early moves this offseason, the latest of which was signing catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. Add that to the signing of Kyle Hendricks and the trade for Jorge Soler, and they’re doing … something (still unclear exactly what). The Angels also hired d’Arnaud’s catching instructor Sal Fasano away from the Braves to be the assistant pitching coach.
- Manager moves: The Marlins hired Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough to be their new manager, and the Yankees officially exercised Aaron Boone’s option for 2025.
- Front-office moves: Preston Mattingly is the Phillies’ new GM, Derek Falvey is the new team president in Minnesota and Reggie Jackson left the Astros.
- Tropicana Field won’t be ready until 2026, and the repairs will cost over $55 million. That is, if they happen at all, since the Rays are planning on moving into a new stadium altogether in 2028. Either way, they still need to decide on a home for 2025.
- Wander Franco’s legal troubles grew when he was detained in the Dominican Republic after a fight in a parking lot Sunday. He already faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking. That trial begins on Dec. 12.
- Four other teams have expressed interest, but Teoscar Hernández would prefer to stay with the Dodgers.
- An arbitrator sided with the MLBPA over Rimas Sports — Bad Bunny’s agency — in their ongoing feud.
This again? Latest on Diamond Sports
Later today in Houston, a hearing will begin that (we think) could conclude the long-running saga of Diamond Sports’ bankruptcy proceedings. It might not be done and dusted by tonight, but it should be before our next Windup on Monday.
A quick catch-up: “Bally Sports” no longer exists. The title sponsor is now FanDuel. In the lead-up to the hearing, they have locked in six teams for broadcast in 2025: the Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Marlins and — as of yesterday — the Rays and Tigers. We still don’t know if the Royals will join that roster; talks are “ongoing.”
It’s not great news for fans, necessarily. As Evan Drellich reports:
“The Cardinals newly granted in-market streaming rights to Diamond, as did the Angels. Diamond already had those rights for the Marlins, Rays and Tigers. That means those teams can be watched via a standalone subscription Diamond will sell via its own platform and also through Amazon Prime (but at additional cost on top of Prime’s standard fee).”
Three other teams who were with Diamond last year — the Brewers, Guardians and Twins — have licensed their streaming rights directly to MLB, and can be streamed in-market with no blackouts. Two others — the Rangers and Reds — currently have no home.
We’ll hopefully have something more definitive on Monday. It would be super nice to never have to talk about this again after that.
Money Games: Will Boras rebound?
Let’s just say it: Last year was a bust for Scott Boras. The “Boras Four” — Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery — each signed for fewer years and dollars than anyone expected, and the deals were signed late enough that it’s fair to speculate that they impacted the players’ performance in 2024.
For some, that was enough to start shoveling dirt on the career of the most successful agent in the sport’s history.
Was that premature? Maybe. But as Andy McCullough writes, this winter will be a bit of a test for the mega-agent. After all, Boras represents the top two free agents of this year’s class (Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes), and represents half of the top 16 free agents on our big board. That’s not unusual. What would be is a second consecutive year of Boras clients falling short of their projected contracts.
The first risk didn’t exactly pan out, with Gerrit Cole opting out of his deal with the Yankees — ostensibly to force New York to add another year on the back end — only to end up rescinding that opt-out two days later.
Make no mistake, Boras is still the biggest name in the game. But as the great band Elbow reminds us: “Empires crumble all the time.”
This winter will be an interesting one to follow. The work has already begun, with Mets owner Steve Cohen flying to L.A. for a meeting this week and a Yankees delegation set to follow next week.
More Boras: Here are nine potential landing spots for Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes.
Handshakes and High Fives
Gleyber Torres’ time as a Yankee is almost certainly over. So what’s the plan for second base in the Bronx?
Jim Bowden has a list of 15 players he thinks could be traded this winter.
Wanna start from scratch? Well, it would be really expensive, but Chad Jennings has a blueprint, with his All-Free-Agent Team.
The Astros have indicated that re-signing Alex Bregman is their top priority, but what if he goes elsewhere? Here are some backup plans.
It’s not really news, given the moves they’ve made already, but the Cardinals are saying it out loud now: They’re leaning into the youth movement.
The Diamondbacks are apparently getting some interest in their starting pitching depth. Call me crazy, but I have to think Jordan Montgomery won’t be long for Arizona.
In collectibles: You know about the “big” rookie cards, but this examination of Babe Ruth’s lesser-known rookie card is truly fascinating. Also: Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball gets an exalted perch, and Debut Patches are fueling a frenzy.
Most-clicked in last week’s newsletter: Our big board ranking the top 40 MLB free agents this offseason. Bookmark it!
📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.
(Top photo: Eric Espada / Getty Images)
