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Signing Rōki Sasaki would instantly give the Blue Jays an ace
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Photo credit: AP - Eugene Hoshiko
Ryley Delaney
Jan 13, 2025, 16:30 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be in on Rōki Sasaki.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays met with the Japanese ace in Toronto recently. That begs the question, how does the 23-year-old fit in the Blue Jays rotation?
Let’s look at his profile, where Sasaki would fit in the Jays’ rotation, as well as another benefit the team would get for signing him.

What makes Rōki Sasaki so good?

Next to maybe Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, Sasaki was the best starting pitcher coming into this off-season. The 23-year-old righty has never pitched in the big leagues, but he has a career 2.10 ERA in 394.2 innings pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball, with a 32.7 K% and a 5.7 BB%.
Nearly two years ago at the World Baseball Classic, the then-21-year-old featured a fastball in triple digits, maxing out at just under 102 mph during the semifinals against Mexico. It’s worth noting that according to his MLB Pipeline profile, his fastball averaged about 97 mph last season.
Somehow, the fastball isn’t even considered his best pitch, as his slider is considered “virtually unhittable”. Pair those two pitches with a potential plus slider and great command, and not only do you have one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, but a pitcher that immediately headlines a pitching staff.
Not only that, but Sasaki is rather cheap compared to most posted players. Due to his age, teams have to sign Sasaki to a minor league deal, using their international free agent bonus pool. This IFA period, the Blue Jays have a bonus pool of $6,261,600, but they are able to trade for more if need be (it’ll come at a heavy cost though).
All of this makes Sasaki a desirable pitcher for all 30 teams to land.

Where would Rōki Sasaki fit in the rotation?

The next question is where would Sasaki fit in the Blue Jays rotation for 2025?
It may be a hot take, but he could very well be the team’s ace. Last season, Kevin Gausman had a 3.83 ERA and a 3.77 FIP in 181 innings pitched, with his K% dropping to 21.4%, down from 31.1%. This was undeniably his worst season as a Blue Jay, and he’s the team’s current ace. Gausman’s Fangraphs Steamer projections have him posting a 3.88 ERA and a 3.78 FIP in 193.1 innings pitched, with both those projected numbers being the best for any Blue Jays’ starter.
Last season, José Berríos finished with a 3.60 ERA, the best for any Blue Jay starter, but struggled with the home run ball as he gave up 31 dingers, tied for the second most in the league. With a 19.5 K%, the lowest since his rookie season in 2016, the righty had a worrisome 4.72 FIP.
Bowden Francis finished the season well, like, one of the best stretches of starts in modern baseball history, but Steamer has him finishing with a 4.34 ERA and a 4.44 FIP in 158.1 innings. Chris Bassitt doesn’t fare much better with Steamer’s predictions, as it has him finishing with a 4.10 ERA and a 4.15.
Steamer isn’t end-all-be-all, but the Blue Jays rotation is aged and a decline could be possible. Adding a player like Sasaki gives them an ace and a young pitcher to extend their window of contention.

An added benefit

There’s also an added benefit for the Blue Jays. As of right now, there isn’t a long-man in the rotation who can spot-start when needed. Well, if they are able to sign Sasaki, Yariel Rodríguez would be the pitcher to move to the bullpen and likely pitch in long relief when need be.
Last season, the 27-year-old finished with a 4.47 ERA and a 4.34 FIP in 86.2 innings pitched, starting all 21 games he appeared in with a 23.1 K% and a 10.9 BB%. However, only eight of those starts saw the Cuban righty finish with five or more innings pitched, and he only went 6+ innings twice in back-to-back starts.
A reason for that is because Rodríguez didn’t pitch for a team in 2023, instead waiting until he was able to sign with a big league team during the 2023-24 off-season. Before signing with the Canadian team, Rodríguez pitched for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball, appearing in 56 games in relief and posting a 1.15 ERA in 54.2.
His velocity out of the bullpen is higher and his stuff is better. Signing Sasaki not only gives the Blue Jays an ace in the rotation but allows them to use money they’d need for a long man elsewhere.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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