They have tried. Truly, they have tried to make inroads into the Japanese free agent market, but the Phillies have yet to land the plane. They threw gobs of money at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, only for him to turn them down. They offered laurels to Roki Sasaki, only for him to join the Dodgers.
Now, they are at it again.
We know that Teruaki Sato is likely the biggest fish the team is looking to snag to help with their outfield, but they’ve also been linked to 18 year old pitcher Shoki Oda. They’re likely going
to be rumored to be sniffing around Seiya Suzuki, though he wouldn’t really count for this exercise as he’s already been playing in MLB for a while now. Yet signing him could help lure others from across the Pacific to sign with Philadelphia.
It begs the question: is this finally the year the team is successful in bringing a Japanese free agent to Philly? They might not get a better chance at doing so.
