The Mariners will have a strong pitch for Japanese star Roki Sasaki

The Seattle Mariners’ strength is their starting rotation. So why not add one more to it?

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The Mariners will make a play for Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, who was posted by Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines on Monday. Sasaki will have 45-day window where he can negotiate and eventually sign with an MLB club.

Widely thought to be most interested in joining the Dodgers or Padres, the Mariners can make a strong run at the 23-year-old. They’re one of the better-suited teams in MLB to utilize a six-man rotation because of their depth at the position, which would help Sasaki ease into the league coming from Japan where six-man rotations are the norm. Perhaps even more importantly, in the Mariners’ pitch, they can lean on what has been the shining star of the organization: their pitching programs.

“We talk about celebrating our pitching programs, our pitching coaches, from the success we found on the field to the environment that we play in,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said.

Related: What would a Roki Sasaki signing mean for Mariners?

The Mariners can highlight their high performance department, pitch development, analytics and arsenal usage, great home and division pitching environments, and perhaps most importantly a stable and successful pitching group with a track record of success.

“We have a good story to tell,” Dipoto said.

“… We do a really good job of bringing pitchers in, helping them become the best versions of themselves and keeping them on the mound, throwing their innings. We’ve done a phenomenal job over time of putting our pitchers in position to go take their turn with the most advanced, maximized development of their pitch arsenal that they can go with and scouting information that allows them the best look, lens into the opponent. I don’t know that you can do really much better than that and then go pitch at T-Mobile Park for half the schedule.”

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander hopes Sasaki has the chance to see the culture that has developed with the pitchers and staff as well.

“All that has led to a phenomenal culture among that group of those people,” Hollander said. “A ton of trust, a ton of respect. We spent some time talking to our pitchers about what they believe are our strong points. What do we do? What can we do better?” Hollander said. “A common theme or feedback point from them is how much they all care about each other and believe in the person next to them, whether that person next to them is another pitcher or an analyst or a pitching coach or a trainer. There’s a real culture of trust and growth and development among the staff. It’s like a big family in a lot of ways, and I think that is something that is pretty unique among our group. It’s a group that has grown up together and really celebrates and pushes each other.”

Sasaki will likely not sign until after the 2025 international signing period begins Jan. 15. Because he is under 25, Sasaki is considered an amateur under MLB rules and can only be signed as part of MLB’s international bonus pool system. That provides more or less an even playing field because, as explained by MLB Trade Rumors, all teams have bonus pools around the $5-8 million range, and while they can make trades to add to the bonus pool, they can’t increase their original pool figure by more than 60%.

Let’s make a deal?

Dipoto would love to make a deal. So much so that in a visit with MLB Network Radio Monday morning, he told hosts Steve Phillips and Eduardo Pérez that he is prepared to do things a bit differently this year.

Related: Dipoto shares how M’s are being ‘very aggressive’ on trade market

“This is probably the first year that we’ve been very aggressive in talking to other teams about trade targets that include the upper end of our prospect system,” Dipoto said.

And just how far have those talks gone?

“We’ve not really gone past surface level just about anything outside of free agent pursuit,” he told members of the Seattle media who were present at the winter meetings later in the day. “To that end, I would say we’re not in the red zone or anything. We are waiting for the market to develop.”

Dipoto admitted that so far this winter, prospects have not been a driver for the market as teams have been focused on acquiring major league players. This could change as more free agents come off the table.

“The player that doesn’t cost you talent is always going to be more appealing to most teams,” Dipoto said. “Once that part of the free agent market starts to dry up or disappear, then teams are usually a little bit different in their behaviors.”

Having specific needs, opposed to tons of flexibility in what they can bring on to the team as they have in the past, has also slowed the typical pace of calls.

“We have been shooting in a very specific window,” he said.

The target this winter has been infielders, with vacancies at first, second and third base. There are plenty of options through free agency or trade at first base. Second and third basemen in particular are more in short supply this winter. The Mariners appear to be looking at acquiring just one player between the two positions, however, and that player will most likely be acquired in trade. For now, it seems the other position will be filled by a combination of players that include Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas, and the long shot out of spring training: Cole Young, the Mariners’ No. 2 ranked prospect and the No. 38 overall ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

“We think the second and third base positions are kind of fluid for us, meaning we can count on that group to fill one of the positions for us,” Dipoto said.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Drayer: Where the Mariners stand as winter meetings begin
• MLB Network’s Amsinger weighs in on biggest need for Mariners’ offense
• M’s and More: What MLB insider Jon Morosi heard before winter meetings
• Drayer: Success of three types of hitters show what M’s need to target
• Salk: No thanks on a Seattle Mariners trade for 3B Alec Bohm

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