The latest installment in the pursuit of highly-touted pitcher Roki Sasaki has been revealed Monday afternoon.
According to noted MLB reporter Jeff Passan, Sasaki has narrowed his focus to three teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Diego Padres.
San Diego and Los Angeles being listed as finalists comes as no surprise. The two West Coast ballclubs have long been rumored to be squarely in the hunt for Sasaki’s services.
Toronto seemingly was a late entry into the mix — though the Blue Jays stand out here in several ways. For one, the team needs an ace-level starter to catapult the franchise into the future. Landing Sasaki could go a long way toward helping the ballclub to convince Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to re-sign.
With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jackson Merrill grabbing virtually all the headlines for the two NL West titans, Sasaki could (in theory) carve out his own role as the premier player in Toronto next to Guerrero Jr.
Additionally, Toronto stands alone as the de facto team for the entire country of Canada. Sasaki could handsomely cash in on an assortment of endorsement deals that might not be as accessible in the U.S. The fanbase in Toronto is very passionate, and Sasaki would be able to operate in a situation with far less pressure specifically compared to Los Angeles.
He also could build a newfound connection between Toronto/the country of Canada and his native Japan rather than running the risk of being in the shadow of Ohtani.
Having said all of that, San Diego and LA have to feel confident in landing Sasaki. Both are far closer to Tokyo compared to Toronto. Los Angeles in particular has a booming Japanese community — and one of the biggest Japanese communities in the world outside of the country itself. There’s also the past history the Dodgers have with Japanese-born ballplayers, not to mention their standing as the premier team within the sport.
Sasaki would immediately join San Diego’s rotation alongside his idol, Yu Darvish. One cannot overstate this aspect enough. The Padres are loaded with talent, and we saw last year that this team is a legit World Series contender.
Sasaki’s posting window closes on Jan. 23 — meaning that we should hear about his decision any day now.
