Where Mets stand in hunt for free-agent Japanese star Roki Sasaki

DALLAS — Roki Sasaki’s free agency is set to accelerate next week, with the Japanese pitching star expected to begin convening in the U.S. with interested teams, his agent said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings.

The 23-year-old Sasaki was officially posted in recent days by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. The twist is he’s ineligible for a major league contract as a Japanese player under age 25 and must be signed using a team’s international bonus pool money — as was the case when Shohei Ohtani arrived to MLB before the 2018 season.

Sasaki throws a 100-mph fastball and supplements it with a splitter.

The Mets have shown interest in Sasaki — president of baseball operations David Stearns traveled to Japan in September to watch him pitch. Stearns on Tuesday indicated the Mets remain interested and were in the process of preparing a video presentation for the pitcher.

But Stearns said any potential meeting with Sasaki would be “invitation only,” meaning the Mets will have to wait and see if Sasaki is interested enough to proceed.

“We’re going to give it our best shot,” Stearns said. “It’s very difficult in these processes to truly understand what a player’s preference is. This isn’t a normal free-agent recruitment process, so we’re going to submit our presentation and materials, just like everyone else, and we’ll wait for his camp’s feedback.”

The Mets have a total international bonus pool of $6.2 million for 2025. Of that amount, $5 million is committed to highly regarded Elian Pena, a 16-year-old shortstop.

Other than reneging on their agreement with Pena, the Mets’ other path to additional bonus pool money would be through a trade. Teams are allowed to trade for up to 50 percent of their bonus pool allotment.

But Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe said he’s spoken to his client about not necessarily chasing dollars, given that the floor and ceiling for many deals will be so close. Once signed, Sasaki would receive the major league minimum until he’s eligible for arbitration, after three seasons.

“The bonus pool amounts are so negligible, my advice to him is don’t make a decision based on that because the long term of your career is where you earn your money,” Wolfe said. “It’s probably not advisable to make a short-term decision.”

Wolfe indicated Sasaki will sign with a team between Jan. 15 and 22 — with the earliest date preferable so the pitcher can obtain a work visa that would allow him to begin spring training on time.

Wolfe was asked why Sasaki would jump to MLB now rather than wait until he’s 25, when he could chase a significant contract. Last winter, Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (also represented by Wolfe) landed a record contract for a pitcher: $325 million over 12 years.

“Some of it is Japanese culture, some of it is Roki Sasaki,” Wolfe said. “There are no absolutes in baseball and through Roki’s eyes there are no absolutes in life … if you look at some of the things that have happened in his life, he does not take anything for granted.”

Sasaki’s father and grandparents died in the 2011 tsunami that struck the Tohoku region of Japan, when Sasaki was nine years old. The family’s home was also destroyed in the disaster and he had to live in a nursing home with his mother and two brothers during the recovery.

Wolfe said it’s possible Sasaki would consider a small market given his negative experiences with the media at home in Japan. Much of the criticism has stemmed from Sasaki’s desire in recent years to leave for MLB. It wasn’t until this week that he was granted his wish and posted by Chiba Lotte.

But Wolfe said all options will be considered. The industry perception is the Dodgers and Padres are the favorites for the pitcher because of geography.

Sasaki still hasn’t had substantial conversations with Wolfe about what he’s looking for in a new team.

“The best I can say is he has paid attention to how teams have done as far as overall success, both this year and in the recent past,” Wolfe said. “He does watch a lot of Major League Baseball. He’s paid attention to what his WBC teammates have done. He asked a lot of questions about weather, about comfortability, about pitching development and watching how other Japanese players in the major leagues are doing.”