Blue Jays add speedy outfielder, international money in potential Roki Sasaki ploy

The Padres have just been eliminated from the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes, making the Blue Jays and Dodgers the last two finalists remaining for the young Japanese right-hander. It was previously reported that Los Angeles and San Diego were the frontrunners over Toronto, due to their public chase for more international money to spend.

As of Friday, though, the Blue Jays are the only team to have actually acquired additional international money to spend on Sasaki, along with cash, and speedy outfielder in Myles Straw in a just-annonced deal. The Dodgers have not been able to acquire the extra money, and Toronto already had more than them to begin with to spend on Sasaki.

According to Shi Davidi, the Blue Jays are adding $2 million in bonus pool money in the Straw trade, which has already been announced by the team. That puts them at just over $8 million to give to Sasaki. The Dodgers are only able to give slightly over $5 million to him, which is a great sign for Toronto.

Blue Jays acquire Myles Straw and a large amount of international bonus money to offer to Roki Sasaki.

Getting that extra money to spend on Sasaki is a surprise, as only the Padres and Dodgers were rumored to have interest in doing so. It helps them a ton, as Sasaki is the piece that could save Toronto's offseason. It also marks the second trade that Cleveland has made with Toronto this offseason, starting with the Andrés Giménez deal.

Straw is an interesting addition to the outfield, as he has never really had a great bat, but his speed and defense have made him a useful player on rosters. Additionally, he played in just seven games at the big league level in 2024, spending most of the season in Triple-A.

Last season in Triple-A, Straw batted .240 with three home runs and stole 30 bases. He drove in 47 runs and put together an OPS of .651. His wRC+ reached just 72, which is 28 points below the league average of 100. It seems Cleveland was only willing to give Toronto this money if they would take Straw off of their roster, but nonetheless, he is now a Blue Jay.

Hopefully this is the move that helps the Blue Jays get Sasaki. This signing bonus Toronto can give is very useful when competing with the defending World Series winners in the Dodgers. Although there is no reported deal done, it seems as if a Sasaki signing could be announced at any minute, so we will soon see if this was the trade Toronto needed to complete to secure the star right-hander.