Blake Murphy of Sportsnet reports on BlueSky that the Jays have acquired $2m in international bonus pool money from the Cleveland Guardians for cash/future considerations and in exchange for eating Myles Straw’s contract.
Straw, an excellent outfield defender, came up with the Astros before being traded to Clevland in 2021 and signing a 5 year, $25m extension to buy out his arbitration years plus one. That deal includes $6m in remaining salary this coming season and $7m next, with a $1.75m buy-out. After signing, Straw immediately imploded at the plate, slashing just .229/.296/.284 in 1114 PAs between 2022 and 2023, then spent 2024 posting only marginally better numbers in AAA. He’s a pure salary dump for the Jays, who will probably stash him in Buffalo (he has two options left and is under 5 years of service time, so he can’t refuse the assignment) in case they need a glove first/only fifth outfielder. Cleveland will send $1m this year and next and pay the entire $1.75m buy-out following the 2026 season, so Toronto’s effectively acquiring $11m in dead money.
In exchange for bailing Cleveland out, Toronto gets $2m of cash to add to their international bonus pool, bringing the total to $8,261,600. They are allowed to trade for up to $1,756,960 more, maxing out their pool at $10,018,560, 160% of its starting value.
The clear implication of this move is that they’re adjusting to their position as finalists in the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. Sasaki, current ace of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League, is one of the major prizes of the off-season. A starter who can touch 101mph and whose splitter is regarded by some as maybe the best off-speed pitch in the world right now, he’s battled some minor injuries and command that’s more acceptable than great but still profiles as a short outing ace in the Blake Snell mold in MLB. As a 23 year old, Sasaki is subject to MLB’s international amateur signing rules, meaning he will receive a signing bonus constrained by his new team’s international bonus pool and then enter MLB making the minimum and subject to six seasons of team control like a regular rookie.
Whichever team signs Sasaki will certainly offer him their entire bonus pool, meaning breaking commitments to the Latin American prospects they’d previously agreed to deals with in advance of Wednesday’s opening of the International Free Agent market. Previous reports had the LA Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, and the Blue Jays as the three finalists for Sasaki’s services. This morning, reports broke that the Padres have officially signed Dominican lefty Carlos Alvarez to a bonus in the $1m range, strongly implying that they believe they’re out of the running. The Jays are now in a position to outbid the Dodgers, whose bonus pool is $5,146,200 and so who even with trades can offer Sasaki a maximum of $8,233,920.
This does not mean that Sasaki is coming to Toronto, to be clear. There are many factors in his decision, and he’s already forfeited an almost certain nine figure payday in two years by asking to be posted now, so it’s clear he won’t simply go to the highest bidder. Playing in LA, on a super team and in a rotation with countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will be very tempting, as will being three time zones and two hours of flight time closer to home compared to Toronto. All it signals is that they Jays are probably still in it. If Sasaki ends up in LA, expect the Jays to use this money to swoop in and try to pick up some of the prospects linked to the Dodgers who will wind up without a home.
Sasaki’s posting window closes next Thursday, and whichever team lands him will probably need a bit of time to finish trading for more pool room and any other formalities that are necessary, so a decision this weekend or early next week seems likely.