The Mets were early adopters of NPB starting pitchers. Masato Yoshii was a rotation regular for the 1998 and 1999 Mets. At that point, only Hideo Nomo, Hideki Irabu and (briefly) Shigetoshi Hasegawa had started an MLB game in 35 years.

MLB insider predicts the Padres are "more likely" to sign Roki Sasaki than the Dodgers, with several teams in the mix for the young star.

Coincidentally, a starting pitcher (Roki Sasaki) and an outfielder (Juan Soto) are the most talked-about free agents in this year's class. More news: Dodgers Veteran Takes Parting

Will the Mets sign Juan Soto? Dive into the latest MLB rumors to see what execs are saying about the New York Mets odds of signing Juan Soto.

Juan Soto is the biggest name of the 2024-25 MLB offseason and his dance card is filling up accordingly. Each of the league's biggest spenders are reportedly in pursuit of a free-agent slugger who just finished up another All-Star season in his single year with the New York Yankees.

At this point in free agency, every team is trying to convince fans — and themselves, to an extent — they have a real shot at signing superstar Juan Soto. The New York Mets appear to be one of the teams that actually does have a shot at the privilege of paying Soto a boatload of money over the next decade-plus.