Dombrowski: Phillies 'haven't been invited' to meet with Roki Sasaki

Don't bother keeping any cheesesteaks warm for Roki Sasaki.

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Friday that his team is unlikely to sign Sasaki, the Japanese phenom who's been posted for a move to the major leagues. While he has interest, Dombrowski revealed that the right-hander's camp has yet to offer the Phillies a meeting.

"We have not been invited to talk to him at this point. We sent in our original info, they know we would very much like to have a presentation, but we haven't been invited to the table," the longtime executive told reporters, according to Paul Casella of MLB.com.

Dombrowski added that the Phillies are unlikely to make any more "impactful" signings this winter. Philadelphia's made a pair of free-agent additions already this offseason, inking former All-Star closer Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler to one-year contracts.

Adding Sasaki would have been something of a luxury for the Phillies, who already own a star-studded rotation led by NL Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler.

Sasaki is presumably drawing interest from all 30 teams, even though his exact preferences continue to remain a bit of a mystery. Because he was posted before turning 25, he's being treated as an amateur free agent and his signing bonus will be limited under the international bonus pool cap, leveling the playing field for the entire league. If the Phillies did get a meeting with Sasaki, they'd only be able to offer him a maximum bonus of $6,261,600.

The 23-year-old met with both the New York Yankees and Mets on Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. He also sat down with the Chicago Cubs, who were granted a meeting thanks to their recent success with Japanese players, a source told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

Sasaki is in the middle of a 45-day window to negotiate with MLB teams after being posted earlier this month by his NPB club, the Chiba Lotte Marines. While he can take meetings right now, he's not eligible to sign a contract until Jan. 15.

In four seasons with the Marines, Sasaki put up a 2.10 ERA and 0.89 WHIP along with an 11.5 K/9 rate across 414 2/3 innings. He made headlines in 2022 by tossing a 19-strikeout perfect game.