Latest Roki Sasaki update shows Dodgers, Padres likely have edge over Blue Jays

A day ago, there was some growing optimism about the Blue Jays chances with Roki Sasaki after a lone missive from MLB insider Hector Gomez asserted that they were pushing the hardest for him out of the trio of finalists.

Unfortunately, as widely expected, a different report from Mark Feinsand counteracted that notion and killed some of that hope on Thursday. In fact, it asserted that both the Dodgers and Padres are pushing far more tangibly than Toronto at the moment.

Feinsand stated that the Dodgers and Padres were actively reaching out to teams to trade for more international bonus pool space in order to sign Sasaki. The Blue Jays were not mentioned in doing so, which is an indication that they are behind the other two finalists.

Toronto did make a trade yesterday, sending Brett de Geus to Pittsburgh for cash considerations. That does not make an impact on the Sasaki sweepstakes, as straight up cash is not the same as the international money required to spend on players from overseas.

Mark Feinsand's report indicates Padres and Dodgers have an edge over Blue Jays in Roki Sasaki sweepstakes.

If San Diego and Los Angeles do work out deals to acquire more money to spend on Sasaki, then it would indicate that they're hustling to even the playing field to the maximum possible degree. Toronto began with the same amount to spend as San Diego, and both pools were larger than that of Los Angeles.

It would not be a bad idea for the Blue Jays to attempt to get more money to spend on him, if they are going as hard as Gomez previously claimed. There are some moveable assets on the team that could get the job done in order to up the offer for Sasaki.

After missing out on all of the players that Toronto was interested in this offseason, getting Sasaki appears to be the number one priority towards saving their offseason from complete disaster. There are still other moves that they could make to save the entire winter, but if the same theme keeps happening for the rest of the offseason, then they will likely not be able to accomplish the most ideal moves. Sasaki could sign at any moment, and it does not look great for Toronto, given Feinsand's latest report.