Blue Jays insider claims Jays will be 'all in' on Japanese phenom eyeing MLB career

As the Toronto Blue Jays continue to cast a wide net in their unending search for 2025 reinforcements, they could use all the help they can get as they try to make it to the promised land one last time with the Vladimir Guerrero Jr.-Bo Bichette core still intact.

The club is said to be heavily seeking help on offense and on the pitching side of things. This includes upgrades in the starting rotation and the bullpen. According to TSN's Scott Mitchell, he's been frequently hearing that the Blue Jays will be "all in" on a Japanese phenom who is looking to make the switch over to Major League Baseball.

Roki Sasaki, 25, has been one of the best pitchers on the planet for the past four years, quietly dominating in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines. Just this past season, the right-hander went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA while striking out 129 batters and walking just 32 across 111 innings of work.

Blue Jays could be "all in" on Roki Sasaki once he becomes available

Over the course of his very young career, Sasaki has regularly hit triple-digits with his fastball. He pairs that with an otherworldly splitter and a slider that's still something of a work in progress. For a deeper look at Sasaki and what he brings to the table, check out Just Baseball's Aram Leighton's in-depth look at his repertoire and what makes him such a special talent.

Sasaki is expected to be posted by the Marines before Dec. 15, which would mean he's a part of the 2025 International Free Agent class. This would work out in the Blue Jays' favor, as they have only around $12K left in their 2024 pool after signing Franklin Rojas, Angel Guzman and others.

Having Sasaki fall under the 2025 umbrella would re-open up the books for Toronto's international pool. Once January 15 rolls around, every team gets their full pool of money to play with. This amount will range from around $7.5 million to $5.1 million, depending on free agent acquisitions and compensation. Teams always have hush-hush handshake deals going on under the table prior to the official opening of the signing period, so the actual amount of available money they have is very much not set in stone.

Since Sasaki doesn't have enough service time in Japan, he won't be eligible to sign a contract like Yoshinobu Yamamoto's decade-long deal he got from the Dodgers this past offseason. It's also worth remembering that all teams have similar pools of international bonus money, so Sasaki's initial deal - one that'll be of the minor-league variety - won't be anywhere close to Yamamoto's dollar-wise.

That means the Blue Jays will have every chance other teams have to land Sasaki. That also means that there's going to be a serious emphasis placed on Toronto's state of the organization as a whole. Sasaki is going to have to be wooed by more than just how much money the Blue Jays will eventually throw at him. Similarly to Juan Soto, he's going to have to be lured in by the club's willingness to field a competitive team during his time in the organization.

The Blue Jays have certainly hit it big on the international market in the past; just look at what they're getting from that Guerrero guy, as well as one of their top prospects in Orelvis Martinez.