Star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. We examine the fallout from his decision across the league.
Dodgers remain fully operational Death Star
Agent Joel Wolfe stood in front of reporters at the winter meetings in early December declaring his client would entertain pitches from any and all markets. Wolfe said no team - despite it being reported that the Dodgers were overwhelming favorites to land Sasaki - had an advantage. The 23-year-old was going into free agency with an open mind.
While Sasaki did weigh all his options and tour other cities, in the end, he landed in Chavez Ravine like almost everyone thought he would.
It's hard to blame Sasaki for his decision.
The Dodgers have built the sustainable powerhouse organization that so many other executives promise to deliver. They're the reigning World Series champions. They're loaded with stars under contract long term. Ownership commits considerable financial resources. They've built a pipeline of young talent that ensures they always have pieces to use in trades. The Dodgers have a massive following in Japan.
Sasaki has familiarity in the clubhouse in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who can help him adjust on and off the field.
When the best team with the best players is actively recruiting you, how can you say no?
Sasaki likely slots in as the Dodgers' No. 4 or 5 starter - he'd be an ace on most teams - behind Blake Snell, Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani (when he's healthy enough to resume pitching). The club has Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May as depth options should it go with a six-man rotation. L.A. will likely also bring Clayton Kershaw back for another season.
There are plenty of issues surrounding the durability of this group, but it has the potential to be historically dominant, with the Dodgers possessing arguably five of the top 25 pitchers in MLB right now.
Los Angeles didn't need Sasaki. You can sympathize with fans from other teams being annoyed with the Dodgers adding yet another star. But there's no fanbase in the world that wouldn't want their team to operate like this. They've set the standard in the sport, and they're probably still not done this winter.
At least Juan Soto opted to sign elsewhere.
When will the pain stop in Toronto?
The Blue Jays should probably fold their hand the next time they find themselves at the final table with the Dodgers fighting for a star free agent.
It won't end well. In fact, the universe will find a way to make it hurt even more than it should.
A little over a year after Ohtani was believed to be on the plane, Blue Jays' fans were dealt another cruel blow when Sasaki passed on Toronto. There was no expectation that the Blue Jays would even be in the running for his services going into the winter. But Toronto found itself a finalist. Then, hours before Sasaki posted he's signing with the Dodgers, the Blue Jays pulled off a surprising trade with Cleveland to acquire international bonus pool money in what appeared to be in preparation for landing Sasaki.
It seemed unthinkable that the front office would make such a trade if it didn't have assurances from Sasaki's camp.
We now know there was no agreement; the trade quickly backfired. It's a pretty shocking show of form for a front office that's been so careful with its evaluations - almost to a fault at times - and shows how desperate it finds itself at this juncture in its tenure.
Not only did the Blue Jays miss on Sasaki, but they took on Myles Straw in the deal with the Guardians. Straw is owed roughly $12 million over the next two seasons. He spent the majority of last year in the minors and has hit one home run to go with a .579 OPS in 306 MLB games since 2022.
Among the 96 MLB outfielders with at least 1,000 plate appearances over the last three seasons, Straw ranks last in wRC+, slugging, and home runs. He's a gifted defensive outfielder and baserunner, but there's a real chance Straw never cracks the Blue Jays' lineup.
Of course, none of this is Straw's fault, but he now walks into somewhat of an uncomfortable situation in Toronto.
Twisting the knife further is the fact that Sasaki agreed to his deal with the Dodgers for a $6.5-million signing bonus (they traded for extra bonus pool money after Sasaki decided to sign). Prior to the trade with Cleveland, the Blue Jays could've offered Sasaki a max of $6.25 million. So it was never about the money for him. Now, the Blue Jays have the highest bonus pool remaining ($8.25M) of any team for 2025 but might not have anywhere to spend it all.
Blue Jays now have this added bonus pool space. They'll attempt to make the most of it, but execs from other teams say there are no elite players left to steal right now. And Dodgers don't need it for Sasaki, so you can't flip that space to LAD.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 18, 2025
When speaking with reporters last month, Atkins was asked what message he has for the fanbase after the Blue Jays failed in numerous attempts to sign top free agents.
"We understand that certain pursuits may create a level of excitement, and then that may intensify the level of disappointment," Atkins said. "But I don't know a better way to pursue it than to do the best possible job we can to improve our team."
It's easy to understand where Atkins is coming from. Fans want their leadership group to be trying to attract the biggest stars - it's a good thing to be in the mix. But swinging and missing has become far too common for this front office. Sooner or later, something needs to change. Part of a great front office is to understand when you're being used as leverage, and some of the Blue Jays' pursuits in recent years make you question if this group is able to sniff that out.
There's still time for Toronto to salvage this offseason, but the likes of Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso, and Alex Bregman all come with flaws and carry significant risk on long-term deals. You have to wonder what exactly is Toronto building toward at this point, and how many chances are left for this leadership group.
The Blue Jays also have the impending free agency of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette hanging over the organization. Time is ticking to figure it out. For a front office that's taken so many hits in recent years, the club really needs to hope at least one of its homegrown stars is the one that actually takes its money.
Padres' plan also blows up
At least the Blue Jays don't have to watch Sasaki play for a division rival.
The Padres heavily scouted Sasaki and believed they had an advantage given his close relationship with Yu Darvish. San Diego's yet to sign anyone this winter; its full attention was said to be on landing Sasaki.
Not only was Sasaki's skill set desirable, but his league-minimum salary would've been perfect for a team currently dealing with an ownership dispute and budgetary limitations. Sasaki would've covered Joe Musgrove's absence this year and helped long term with Dylan Cease and Michael King set to hit free agency after this season.
San Diego remains one of the NL's better teams but will need general manager A.J. Preller to be very creative if he wishes to improve while simultaneously remaining under the luxury tax. Trading away veterans on expiring deals like Luis Arraez or Dylan Cease could clear some money, but it's hard to improve while trading away core pieces. The Padres don't have another Soto they can package away this time.
Sasaki's decision, at least, provides closure for Preller. We'll see what arguably the league's most creative executive has lined up for a Plan B, C, and D.
Guardians take advantage of the madness
President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff were able to benefit from the Sasaki market by attaching Straw's contract to international bonus pool money they likely had no use for.
Every dollar counts for a small-market team like the Guardians, and being able to eliminate close to $12 million of dead money from the books is incredible business. Straw was Cleveland's fourth-highest-paid position player in 2025 despite not being on the 40-man roster. He was no longer part of the Guardians' plan moving forward, and now they no longer need to pay him to play in Triple-A.
The Straw trade comes a month after the Guardians dealt defensive wizard Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays in a move that cleared roughly $100 million in future payroll commitments. It was reported that Cleveland opted to trade Giménez this winter rather than risk him having another down year in 2025, which likely would've made his contract difficult to move going forward.
Cleveland took advantage of a team in a desperate situation and moved out a contract the team likely believed was untradeable. It was exceptional work and might open the door to another expenditure this winter the Guardians didn't previously believe they had the budget for.
