Cardinals rumors: Jordan Hicks threat, Mariners trade target, potential future ace

Cardinals Rumors: Is Roki Sasaki the future ace for St. Louis?

According to Andrew Wang of Redbird Rants, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is pushing for an MLB posting in 2024 and, more importantly, believes the Cardinals should go all in to make this happen.

"The Cardinals may have a chance of securing a 23-year-old ace for the league minimum in 2025," Wang said, adding that reports are surfacing that Sasaki and the Chiba Lotte Marines are again negotiating to bring him to America several years before he was expected to be posted at age 25.

If Sasaki were to follow the path to posting at age 25, this could put him outside the realm of a possibility of signing with the Cardinals in free agency. A team that signs Sasaki as a restricted International free agent would have three years of control at pre-arbitration and three years of control in arbitration.

"This removes any financial burden from the team that signs Roki Sasaki, allowing him to choose any 30 MLB teams to sign with. So, all the Cardinals have to do is convince Sasaki to sign in St. Louis," Wang explained.

Luckily for Cardinals fans, outfielder and international superstar Lars Nootbaar formed a friendship with Sasaki while the two played for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Hopefully, Nootbaar can convince his friend to come to St. Louis.

Getting a pitcher like Sasaki would be tremendous for the future of the Cardinals. This is a move they must go all-in to make happen.