New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Chiba Lotte Marines Sasaki (23), who announced his entry into the Major League, could be the best ace in the Major League. 안전놀이터

The Japanese media Sponichi Annex reported on Sunday that Aaron Boone, the manager of the Yankees who has decided to serve consecutive terms in the next season, was interviewed online. As for Lotte Sasaki, who is aiming to advance to the Major League, he said, "I heard that he is about the same age as a very young Skins player (Pittsburgh). He is a unique and special talent who has made achievements in the Japanese league. He praised him for being the first starter and an ace in the starting rotation." 

Sasaki, who recorded 29 wins and 15 losses with an earned run average of 2.10 in 64 games (394 ⅔ innings) in the Japanese pro baseball league, is Japan's top ace. With his fastballs measuring more than 160 kilometers per hour, he attracted great attention from his amateur days and became the youngest Japanese pro baseball player to achieve a perfect game in 2022, becoming an ace in the national baseball league. 

However, he was constantly suffering from injuries as his physical ability failed to endure tremendous talent. Chiba Lotte has devoted its management efforts to managing the team to the extent that he has never taken the mound in an official game in his first professional season, but has yet to achieve the regulation innings. In the last season, he recorded only seven wins, four losses and an earned run average of 1.78 in 15 games (91 innings). Nevertheless, he expressed his intention to enter the Major League through posting after the end of the season, but ended up in conflict with his team.  

After all, Sasaki, who stayed at Chiba Lotte this year, was injured again this year and failed to meet the regular innings. However, he has decided to allow Sasaki to post in the winter, considering that he had 10 wins and 5 losses with an earned run average of 2.35 in 18 games (111 innings) for the first time since his debut, and Chiba Lotte also had 10 wins. 

Under the current CBA of Major League Baseball, Sasaki, who is under the age of 25, is only allowed to sign an international promising player contract. Therefore, it is impossible to sign a large-scale contract like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, 325 million-dollar contract with the Dodgers last winter. Like Shohei Ohtani, who has played in the Major League for six years and signed a 10-year, 700 million-dollar contract with the Dodgers, he should sign a rookie contract first and complete six years of service before becoming eligible for free agent. For this reason, many teams are targeting Sasaki. Dodgers is considered a strong candidate, but other teams including Yankees are also expected to enter the race to recruit Sasaki. 

"I watched the video clip (on Sasaki). Throwing fastballs and folk balls that exceed 100 miles (160.9 kilometers). I met Sasaki by chance a few years ago. I hope that he can participate (in recruiting Sasaki)," Boone said, expecting Sasaki to come to the Yankees. 

The Yankees won the American League East championship with a 94-68 winning rate of .580. In the postseason, they advanced to the World Series for the first time in 15 years after winning the World Series in 2009, but lost to the Dodgers by one win and four losses to remain the runner-up. The Yankees have the record of winning the World Series (27 times), the most World Series championships in history, but they are longing to win the title as they are not related to the World Series for a long time.

There is a high possibility that the Yankees will also come forward to recruit Sasaki, who is said to be an ace in the Major League. When Ohtani announced his entry into the Major League seven years ago, the Yankees seriously tried to recruit him but failed. With the Dodgers likely to recruit Sasaki again this time, attention is focusing on whether the Yankees will be able to make a turnaround.