# Detroit Tigers ‘interested’ in Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. Here’s why they have a chance
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The Tigers never comment on free agents.
A buttoned-up Harris departed from the status quo for Sasaki.
“Consider us interested in Sasaki,” Harris said.
Expect Sasaki to sign around Jan. 15.
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“My understanding is they haven’t gotten to the stage where they’re arranging meetings,” Harris said. “They have a process whereby we submit our case, so to speak. After we submit, we’re going to wait to hear what the next steps are.”
Sasaki is an international amateur free agent because of his age and must sign a minor league contract, restricting how much teams can pay him. Therefore, Sasaki will cost between $4-7 million in international bonus pool money. Had he waited two more years, he would not have been subject to salary restrictions.
Tigers in Japan
Over the past year, the Harris-led Tigers have transformed their previously non-existent scouting efforts in Japan. In 2023, the Tigers made their most notable improvement by hiring Tetsu Yofu as their first scout who lives in Japan.
Half of the 30 MLB teams, if not more, scouted Sasaki in Japan in the 2024 season, including Yofu.
KAN IKEDA: How Detroit Tigers’ Kan Ikeda helped Japan win 2023 World Baseball Classic
Additionally, the Tigers shifted Kan Ikeda, who worked for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, from the advance scouting department to the front office. On top of that, the Tigers increased trips to Japan for assistant general manager Rob Metzler and global crosschecker Chip Lawrence. Last but not least, the Tigers invested additional data and video resources to help project how Japanese players will perform in MLB.
What are the biggest issues with the media in Japan?
“There’s been a lot of negativity in the media directed at him because he has expressed interest in going to play for MLB at such a young age. That’s considered in Japan to be very disrespectful and sort of swimming upstream. A lot of people jumped on board there, creating some false rumors about him and his family, and it was very detrimental to his mental state.”
Here’s the biggest news: Sasaki could favor small- to mid-market teams, such as the Tigers.
“Absolutely,” Wolfe said Tuesday. "I think there’s an argument to be made that a small- or mid-market team might be more beneficial to him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he’s been through and not having an enjoyable experience with the media.
“It might be. I’m not saying it will be. But I don’t know how he’s going to view it,” Wolfe continued. “It might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market, but I really don’t know how he looks at it yet because I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and discuss it with him in great detail.”