The offseason for the Toronto Blue Jays has left a lot to be desired as the team has not acquired any big name players thus far.
Among some of the moves the Blue Jays made were acquiring pitcher Jeff Hoffman, pitcher Yimi Garcia, pitcher Nick Sandlin, pitcher Josh Walker, second baseman Andres Jimenez and outfielder Myles Straw.
With none of these players likely to make much of an impact in 2025, the Blue Jays need to make a quick move if they want to truly compete for the American League East title.
However, the Blue Jays could have something in mind for that necessary move, and the trade they made could help with that.
“The Blue Jays have acquired an additional $2 million in international bonus money that could be used to sign starter Rocky Sasaki,” wrote Foul Territory on X .
It @BlueJays You have acquired an additional 2 million USD in International Bonus Fund money. is it meant to go to Rocky Sasaki? pic.twitter.com/hzSuAr4C8f
— FoulTerritory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 17, 2025
The Blue Jays acquired Stroh from the Cleveland Guardians as well as an international signing bonus pool.
Even though the player won a Gold Glove award in 2022, the main benefit of this trade is the additional money the Blue Jays received to potentially sign Sasaki.
The 23-year-old starting pitcher is out of Japan this season.
In 2024, Sasaki appeared in 18 games and went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings.
The Blue Jays know they need to stay aggressive due to the strength of their division, and signing Sasaki could be a key move if they want to be competitive in 2025.
