Blue Jays Manager reveals inside story on Shohei Ohtani's teammate's free agency pursuit
It has been a complicated offseason for the Toronto Blue Jays, who were linked to several free agents but struggled to land many of the big name players they were linked to. Some of the players that the team showed interest in included Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Pete Alonso and Roki Sasaki, missing out on all of them.
While the first three names required the Toronto Blue Jays to outbid other clubs with lucrative deals, when it came to Roki Sasaki, teams were limited on the amount of money they were able to offer him. Since Sasaki is under 25, teams would have to sign him to a minor league deal and offer bonus money. While he ultimately picked the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Jays were considered contenders.
The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes were the talk of baseball, with several teams looking to sign him. In the latest episode of "Foul Territory", Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider provided a behind the scenes look at the process with Roki Sasaki, while highlighting the person that Roki is and the way that he works.
"It's cool to get to know the person, we know the player, especially in his case, it's well documented what he can do. In free agency, like anything, there is so much that goes into it... If you're going after someone, we think the skill set's going to fit and then we try to get to know the person a bit and how we can help him in the big leagues," Schneider explained.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, when it comes to Roki Sasaki, he will be joining the incredibly stacked Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff. Sasaki will be joined by the likes of Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw.
Even though Sasaki decided to join the Dodgers, it was not for a lack of trying. Schneider explained how the team did everything they could to reach an agreement. The team had two meetings with Sasaki, one in Toronto and one in Los Angeles during the pitching phenom's free agency.
"It was a big effort by alot of different people. We had players come up and meet him, we had Zoom calls going on with lots of members from the organization, and it was pretty in-depth. He came with a big group from his camp, it was cool to get to know him and how he worked," Schneider continued.
Toronto Blue Jays pivoted to one of the most experienced pitchers in baseball after missing out on Sasaki
After missing out on Sasaki, Toronto wasted little time in finding a replacement for the Japanese sensation in the rotation. The club agreed to a one-year deal with future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, bringing the three-time Cy Young Award winner to Canada.
While there will be some questions about Max Scherzer's health throughout the season, he has remained a solid contributor when he is on the mound. Last season with the Texas Rangers, Scherzer posted a 3.95 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 43.1 innings of work. If he can hold up, he could be an under-the-radar signing for the Blue Jays.