3 more NY Mets roster moves we all think are necessary after signing Sean Manaea

2. Sign international free agent Roki Sasaki

On December 10th, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. All 30 MLB teams have 45 days to negotiate a deal with Sasaki before the deadline passes and he has to return to the Marines.

Sasaki's posting period ends on Jan. 23, and teams have until then to reach an agreement. Roki Sasaki is poised to be the next great Japanese pitcher to debut in the MLB. The 23-year-old has had a stellar start to his career, accumulating 414.2 IP, 2.02 ERA, 524 K, 0.883 WHIP in his first four years seasons.

Teams will be pulling out all the stops to try and land Sasaki, and the Mets are no different. In September, David Stearns traveled to Japan to watch Sasaki pitch while the Mets were in the middle of a wild-card race! The Mets are going above and beyond for Sasaki due to the fact he will be a low cost, high impact signing that drastically changes this team...at 23 years old. A perfect piece to add to an already stacked core the Mets have put together.

Stearns has said publicly that he wants a pitching staff off eight to ten pitchers that can start a game if need be. Sasaki would fit right in at the top of a staff loaded with starting pitchers, similar to the blue print of the 2024 champion Dodgers.