The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes looked eerily similar to the Shohei Ohtani free agency saga from last off-season.
With anticipation building on a Friday night, both Japanese stars narrowed their choices down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. The tension from both fan bases was apparent on social media with tweets by reporters being shared and scrutinized in dramatic fashion.
In the end, though, the song remained the same. Sasaki, just like Ohtani did 13 months ago, announced on Instagram that he had decided to join the Dodgers, adding more premier talent to an absolutely stacked roster.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are once again left with a silver medal in what’s become a troubling trend for the club.
Here’s a closer look at the Sasaki deal and its ramifications.
The deal:
Roki Sasaki agrees to a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers with a reported $6.5-million signing bonus.
The runners-up:
The Blue Jays and San Diego Padres were among the finalists for Sasaki. The Padres appeared to signal that they were out on the right-hander on Friday morning, but the Blue Jays were reportedly in it until the end. That’s supported by the club’s afternoon trade with the Cleveland Guardians to acquire outfielder Myles Straw along with international bonus pool money.
The player:
Sasaki was among the most sought-after players in recent memory. For one, his talent is immense and he carries the potential to be an ace in MLB. The 23-year-old deploys a fastball that can reach 100 m.p.h. and pairs that with an otherworldly splitter, along with a plus slider.
The right-hander spent the past four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball and over that time produced a 2.02 ERA with 524 strikeouts against 91 walks across 414.2 innings. Such ability to miss bats, coupled with impeccable command, is one of the reasons Sasaki was coveted by almost every major-league organization at the time of his posting. The other is his unique contractual situation.
As outlined meticulously by colleague Shi Davidi, Sasaki was subject to international signing rules that essentially limited how much money he could earn. Because of his age, he would need to advance through MLB’s entry-level pay structure similar to any other rookie and just like Ohtani did when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels as a 23-year-old in December of 2017.
The sheer risk-free value that Sasaki could provide made him a prized commodity across baseball and, now, the Dodgers are poised to benefit from that over the next several years.
The fit:
The Dodgers captured a World Series title and are arguably the winners of the off-season as well. The club signed left-hander Blake Snell in late November and with Sasaki in the fold, boasts a rotation that looks downright scary. Those two will join Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, while Ohtani is also set to resume starting following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. That’s five pitchers with the ability to be a No. 1 starter on some other clubs and the Dodgers also brandish even more depth that should make it easy for them to utilize a six-man rotation.
Put simply, the best team in baseball just got even more lethal.
The same obviously can’t be said about the Blue Jays, who are now reeling after being spurned by several free agents. There’s Ohtani and Sasaki, but it doesn’t end there. The club was heavily involved in the pursuit of Juan Soto earlier this off-season, in addition to free-agent right-hander Corbin Burnes. Each time, though, the club came up empty and now the front office has serious work remaining.
The Blue Jays finished at the bottom of the American League East last season and adding to the severity of the situation is that franchise pillars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are both entering their final campaigns before free agency.
The next domino:
The baseball world had been anticipating this signing for a while and now that it’s over, teams such as the Blue Jays and Padres can look elsewhere for pitching help. Right-hander Jack Flaherty is the best available free-agent starter and it will be interesting to see if he becomes the focus for some clubs.
