As it stands, Wolfe said he does not anticipate Sasaki signing on precisely Jan. 15 but at some point between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23.

The Cubs have gone through the first couple steps of pursuing 23-year-old free agent flame-thrower Roki Sasaki. But the Japanese phenom has yet to whittle down the playing field from an initial round of in-person interviews, Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe said in a Zoom news conference call Monday.

The initial list of MLB teams that expressed interest in Roki Sasaki stretched to 20, with the talented young pitcher taking meetings with a "set few number" of those, his agent said Monday. Sasaki will make his decision between Jan.