Mets' David Stearns went to Japan to watch 'unique talent' Roki Sasaki

SAN ANTONIO — Amid the Mets’ thrilling playoff push, David Stearns made time in September for a forward-looking side quest: a trip to Japan to personally watch Roki Sasaki, the next phenom pitcher expected to arrive stateside.

“He’s a unique talent,” Stearns said Wednesday at the general managers’ meetings.

How so?

“He’s 2(3),” he said, “and throws 100 with a nasty splitter.”

In nine words, that is why most all of Major League Baseball is fascinated — tantalized — by what comes next.

Sasaki may well make the switch to the majors as soon as this offseason. The Dodgers, a year removed from signing a pair of Japanese stars, pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, are widely regarded in the industry as the favorites, perhaps the shoo-in favorites. But the Mets and others are, of course, interested.

Since everybody already knows Sasaki is good, Stearns’ visit was less a scouting endeavor and more of a courtship thing, a show of respect. Hey, the Mets’ desire for Sasaki is such that their president of baseball operations — their chief baseball decision-maker — made the intercontinental trip himself. That says something to the player, in theory, though other baseball ops heads do the same.

“As much as anything, it’s to express a level of interest and respect for these players, that we’re making a concerted effort to see them in their own environment,” Stearns said.

Those intangibles are particularly relevant in the case of Sasaki, who by rule will not and cannot command contract offers of hundreds of millions of dollars that, for example, Yamamoto received from the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers last time around (when he ultimately ended up with $325 million over 12 years from Los Angeles).

Because Sasaki is younger than 25, he is treated as an international amateur and subject to international signing bonus restrictions, which severely limits his near-term earning power.

Each year, teams are capped at how much they are allowed to spend on international amateurs, typically in the range of $4 million to $6 million. Usually, that money goes to teenagers from Latin America. With Sasaki, a club might have to blow up their plans to give most or all of the allotment to this one player.

“This is uncharted territory,” Stearns said. “It is very interesting.”

Since teams are on a mostly level playing field as far as signing bonus, the pursuit of Sasaki is more about the non-financial sales pitch — the state of the organization and its chances to win, the players Sasaki will call teammates, whatever else the righthander values. Thus the importance of signaling respect and interest via an in-person visit.

Once Sasaki signs, he will face the same salary standards as other young players, as Ohtani did: the league minimum or close to it for three seasons, then arbitration for three seasons, then a true free agency. In the meantime, Sasaki — if his elite ability translates — could be an exceptional value on the cost/performance scale.

The current international signing period runs through Dec. 15; most teams have spent most of their money already. The new international signing period begins Jan. 15; clubs’ full bonus pools will be available to them.

The biggest variable is when Sasaki becomes available. Nobody knows. The Chiba Lotte Marines, the team for which Sasaki has put up a 2.10 ERA in four seasons in the highest Japanese league, have to make him available via the posting system before American teams can engage. They are under no obligation to do so, even if that is what Sasaki wants.

For the Mets, Sasaki would be an obvious partial solution to one of their most pressing offseason needs: rotation help. With Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana now free agents, the Mets want to add at least two starting pitchers, Stearns said, calling it “certainly a priority for us.”

The top domestic pitchers available include Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell.

“The Mets are trying to get to their goal, which is winning a World [Series] championship,” agent Scott Boras, who represents Burnes and Snell, said of the Mets’ activity generally. “I think they’ve been very clear about pursuing it aggressively in the market.”

After signing Kodai Senga, trying for Yamamoto and now expressing interest in Sasaki, the Mets expect to remain players in that field.

“More and more, we’re seeing really quality players, particularly pitchers, coming over from Japan,” Stearns said. “It’s a market we’ve been involved in in the past. I would expect us to continue to be involved with it when it makes sense. Clearly, it’s becoming more of an annual basis, where really talented Japanese pitchers are coming over.”

Notes & quotes: Coming off the best year of his career, Manaea has found “a very, very vast market” in free agency, Boras said. “Sean Manaea has put himself in position of being a one/two starter versus being considered a three starter [a year ago],” Boras said. “His adjustment and ability to pitch up in the zone, strikeout rates, command — all of that has resulted in a reevaluation in the industry of what Sean can do” . . . Stearns said he expects the Mets’ catching tandem, Francisco Alvarez and backup Luis Torrens, to remain for 2025.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.