The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Myles Straw and additional international bonus pool money in a perceived effort to sign Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports that Toronto received $2 million in international spending from the Cleveland Guardians, who also sent Straw to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later and cash.
The Blue Jays were announced as one of the three reported finalists for Sasaki, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
Sasaki is eligible to sign with a major-league team between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23 after being posted by his former Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, in December.
MLB teams are allotted international bonus pool money capped at $10 million, the maximum amount Sasaki can sign for. Before Friday’s trade with Cleveland, the Blue Jays were at $6.2 million but are now at $8.2 million, giving them the most spending of any other team. The Dodgers, barring a trade of their own, are currently at around $5.1 million.
Sportsnet reported this week that Sasaki was in Toronto for a meeting with team officials. The Japanese star is believed to have pitched in front of various members of the organization at the Rogers Centre. The 23-year-old also met with the Dodgers and Padres in California.
Sasaki, 23, is regarded as the best international free agent in this year’s class. His fastball has been up to 102 mph in the past and averaged 98.8 mph in 2023.
“Sasaki’s splitter is virtually unhittable, thrown in the 88-90 mph range,” MLB.com wrote of Sasaki’s pitching profile. “It’s a spin-killer and looks like his fastball coming out of his hand, an offspeed offering that produced a 57.1 per cent whiff rate in 2024. His slider is his third pitch, but it’s an above-average to plus offering that also misses a ton of bats.”
In 111 innings last year, Sasaki struck out 129 and walked 32 while logging a 2.35 ERA.
Straw, 30, is a well-regarded defender from Cleveland. He won a Gold Glove award in 2022 for his play in center field. He spent much of last season in Triple-A and has four years left on his contract, including two team options in 2027 and 2028.
Davidi reports that the Guardians are sending the Blue Jays $3.75 million to cover a portion of Straw’s contract.
