Yankees shouldn't waste their time with Roki Sasaki after Yoshinobu Yamamoto nonsense

Unless you're a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers (or a West Coast team), don't listen to any rumors or reports you hear about Japanese superstars a year before they're slated to hit free agency. Take note, nod your head, and move on.

Because the New York Yankees have done this now, twice. They've wasted a large portion of their offseason chasing players that never wanted to be Yankees.

First, it was Shohei Ohtani after the 2017 season. The Yankees were the "favorites" to sign him. He wasted no time ruling the Yankees out of his free agency quest and declined their presentation.

Then came this offseason, when the chase for Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on. The Yankees, again, were believed to be the favorite early on. But then the bidding got insane. Then Yamamoto used both New York teams as negotiating leverage to get as much money as possible from the Dodgers -- the team he wanted to sign with all along (something he admitted!).

Now, the Yankees are believed to be interested in the next Japanese superstar expected to make the move to MLB next year: Roki Sasaki. And to that we say: no thank you.

Yankees shouldn't waste their time with Roki Sasaki after Yoshinobu Yamamoto nonsense

Don't care how good he might be. Don't care how young he is. Any free agent with multiple concerning question marks attached to them just isn't worth the work that's required to land them. Sasaki is yet another unknown commodity, having never thrown an MLB pitch, and the fact he's just 22 years old with 308.2 innings under his belt makes the investment more risky. He's pretty much a prospect, even if he's had a couple good seasons playing with the pros.

Even though Sasaki will be subject to international free agent restrictions, meaning his future contract will look more like Shohei Ohtani's first one with the Angels, the Yankees still don't need to sacrifice valuable time that will more than likely be wasted.

Look at this past offseason. The Yankees made Yamamoto, front and center, their top focus in free agency. It kept them from pursuing other names. It eventually cost them dearly, as they tried to patch up holes toward the end of the offseason when the payroll reached perilous heights.

All of a sudden, Yamamoto was a Dodger for a ridiculous $325 million, the Yankees had to scramble to address their pitching, and before they knew it, they were being penalized 110% on every future dollar they spent. Thankfully, they might be better off for it, but they were chasing a ghost the entire time.

And guess what? Early speculation this time around suggests Sasaki is targeting in the Dodgers and that the interest is mutual. Can anybody blame him? He'll have the opportunity to join his fellow countrymen on the best team in the league.

Easy one to pass on here, Yankees. We'll take a Max Fried, Corbin Burnes or even a Shane Bieber.