Dodgers Get Sasaki Meeting, Burnes Offers, Alonso and the Giants, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

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Dodgers Get Sasaki Meeting, Burnes Offers, Alonso and the Giants, and Other Cubs Bullets

The ice cream place I mentioned yesterday? Where I ate too much ice cream the night before? Yeah, we went again last night. Probably going again tonight. This is why it’s good I rarely go on vacation.

As expected, by way of the rumors of mutual interest and simple geography, the Dodgers have reportedly gotten their in-person meeting with Roki Sasaki. He was meeting with teams in Los Angeles, so this seemed like it was barely worth reporting – we know he’s meeting with the Dodgers, too. Probably seeing their facilities and doing the whole home tour, too. It doesn’t escape my notice that the Dodgers are the sixth team reported to have an in-person meeting (after the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Giants, and Rangers, in approximately that order), and it makes me wonder about that ordering. Not so much “saving the best for last” – the Padres are going to be in there somewhere, too – but perhaps saving his presumptive favorite for last so that he can compare what they say against what he’s already heard. It’s certainly the way I would order things if I were having to chose from among a number of job offers that couldn’t differentiate on money. That, in turn, doesn’t mean Sasaki will definitely pick the Dodgers (or Padres), but it doesn’t do anything to make me think there’s been some surprising twist in this process. Indeed, until and unless we hear about him actually coming to Chicago (or I guess going to their facilities in Arizona?), I can’t let myself believe the Cubs have more than a 1% shot. Reminder: Roki Sasaki cannot officially sign until January 15 (when the IFA period opens), and must sign by January 23 (when his posting period expires). So if we’re going to hear about a winnowing of teams and the “finalists” and what-not, it’d probably be coming pretty soon. Corbin Burnes potentially could’ve gotten a bigger top-line number than the $210 million he got from the Diamondbacks:

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays are two of the teams who were talking franchise-record contracts t.co/UuGV32Eyym

    — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 28, 2024 Keep in mind, though, that there are the potential tax differences, there is the familial reason for wanting to be in Arizona, and we have no idea about any potential deferrals in the other offers that lowered the value (plus, he got an opt-out after two years from Arizona and a full no-trade in the first two years, and then a partial no-trade thereafter). I don’t know that we should be leaping to say he chose a much worse deal. For me, although I very much want the Cubs to be in on the top free agents and willing to commit at these levels, this is not a deal I would’ve want them to sign. I worry about Burnes’ extreme drop in strikeout rate the last two years, the way his famous cutter has gone from ultra-mega-elite to super-very-good, the career low CSW% in 2024, and the career high zone contact rate in 2024. He is highly likely to remain a top-tier pitcher for the next couple years, but there are warning signs that he’s in store for a fall from the “ace” tier. Would I want Burnes on the Cubs? Absolutely. Would I want him taking up $35 million of their apparently-still-limited payroll space for the next six years? Absolutely not. Shortly after all the talk was about the Mets’ reported three-year, $90 million offer to Pete Alonso – and his camp’s desire for more than that – there’s a report out of San Francisco that the Giants are interested in Alonso. Because they have Bryce Eldridge coming, the Giants would presumably be looking at a shorter-term, pillow-with-opt-outs type deal on Alonso. Good Greg Maddux content:

    Greg Maddux says this is the Best Pitch he ever threw.And how he waited 6 years to throw it. The Full Story? pic.twitter.com/VLJA3YqclP

    — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) December 29, 2024

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