Roki Sasaki talked to the Jays’ front office folks in Toronto last week. He was in town for several days, which might signify that he is considering the Jays. Or perhaps he likes the Loose Moose bar.
I am sure he was checking out the restaurants in Toronto, and that can only be positive. They tell us he threw ‘on flat ground’ at Rogers Centre.
Beyond that, he likely wanted to talk to the pitching coaches and get a feel for the people running the team. We’ll see if that is a good or bad thing. Roki might be a good fit, especially this coming year, as he and Yariel Rodriguez could share the fifth spot in the rotation. Or Rodriguez could move into a long relief role, a role we need to be filled if it is possible to convince the team that a reliever can go more than an inning.
He may have to work his way up to being a fulltime starter in much the same way Rodriguez did last year.
Sasaki has to decide by January 23rd, so we likely won’t find out until the 22nd at the earliest. If he does choose the Jays, that would be a nice birthday present for me.
Due to the weird MLB rules, he won’t make much money (in baseball terms).
Scott Mitchell, at TSN, has been telling us that Roki coming to Toronto was a real possibility for a while now:
Mid-January has arrived and I expected we’d be here.
No one is calling them favourites at this point but they’ve got a horse in the race.
Spending multiple days in the city, which he just wrapped up recently, so close to when a decision is due is not something he’d do for fun. https://t.co/dKol9wr9Cf— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) January 13, 2025
At the Score, they have a quick debate on whether they should give Vladimir Guerrero what he wants.
I’m on the PAY THE MAN side. They’ve worked their way to where they have no leverage, so bite the bullet and sign him (assuming there is a number that will work for Vlad).
There is a lot of talk about Jeff Hoffman failing physicals with the Orioles and Braves. That’s a worry, but every team has their doctors who will listen to them. There will be a level of comfort (likely mixed in with how much they are paying the player).