Inside the Blue Jays' pursuit for Roki Sasaki.
The Toronto Blue Jays pulled out all the stops, but it still wasn't enough to sway Roki Sasaki to Toronto.
The Toronto Blue Jays' meeting with Japanese phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki included shortstop Bo Bichette, outfielder Daulton Varsho and reliever Chad Green, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
The three Blue Jays players flew in to Toronto to aid in the organization's quest to sign Sasaki, which proved unsuccessful as he chose the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Nicholson-Smith added that simply getting a meeting with Sasaki underlined a long process by Toronto to improve its network in Japan.
"Those efforts were also driven forward by longtime front office execs Andrew Tinnish and Ryan Mittleman plus Frank Herrmann, the former MLB pitcher who pitched with Sasaki in Japan before joining the Blue Jays as a pitching acquisitions specialist.
This was a project that took years of focused work." - Hideaki Sato
A report from The Athletic detailed the chase for Sasaki and noted how the Blue Jays' advancement to the finalist stage "puzzled executives throughout the sport."
"Toronto's front office is on the hot seat and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can become a free agent after this season, adding to the instability. Yet, they endured in the sweepstakes, despite Sasaki narrowing down his choices."
As much as the Blue Jays can take solace from reaching that stage, failing to sign Sasaki carries a figurative and literal cost for Toronto.
At a certain point, chasing top stars becomes counterproductive when you consistently fail to seal the deal. Your fanbase becomes demoralized and people outside of your home market take those free-agent pursuits less and less seriously.
The Blue Jays will also have the Myles Straw trade as a lasting reminder of the Sasaki sweepstakes.
Toronto acquired Straw from the Cleveland Guardians to gain $2 million more in international bonus pool money, which was intended for the Japanese ace.
General manager Ross Atkins pulled off that deal without any assurances from Sasaki's agent, so now the Jays are saddled with nearly $12 million in outstanding salary for Straw, a 30-year-old with a career .308 slugging percentage.
Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star called the Straw trade "staggering" and "a fireable offence."
He also criticized the message it sends when Toronto is willing to take on $12 million in the mere hope of landing Sasaki while the same front office played hardball with four-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. over what amounted to $1.85 million.
In general, it's odd how the Blue Jays' aggressive approach toward outside talent doesn't carry over to their homegrown stars.
To the extent Toronto can feel good about the progress it's making toward luring international stars north of the border, Sasaki signing with the Dodgers showed how much work is still ahead.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 20 | 269 ANSWERS Inside the Blue Jays' pursuit for Roki Sasaki. Did the Toronto Blue Jays do enough to get Roki Sasaki to come to Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 68 | 25.3 % |
| No | 71 | 26.4 % |
| I doesn't Matter it was predetermined. | 130 | 48.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
