Blue Jays in mix for Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki: reports

The New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants have been informed Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki won't be signing with them.

Giants general manager Zack Minasian announced during a news conference Monday to introduce Justin Verlander that San Francisco no longer was in contention.

Sasaki's decision to eliminate the Yankees and Rangers was disclosed to The Associated Press by people familiar with the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Sasaki's intention to sign elsewhere had not been announced. The decision regarding New York was first reported by the Yankees' YES Network.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are considered the favourites to sign the 23-year-old right-hander, with the Toronto Blue Jays another possibility.

He met with the Blue Jays last week, according to Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough of The Athletic, and has been linked to Toronto by other media outlets.

Under MLB's international amateur signing rules and the posting system between Major League Baseball and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki can sign with an MLB team during a window starting 9 a.m. EST Wednesday and ending 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 23.

Because Sasaki is under 25 and has not played six seasons in NPB, he is classified as an international amateur and limited to a minor league contract subject to international signing bonus pools, which range from $7,555,500 US to $5,146,200. Starting Wednesday, teams may make trades to increase their signing bonus allotment by up to 60% from their initial figure.

Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, has not publicly identified teams under consideration. Sasaki has been said to also have met with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.

Sasaki's fastball tops 100 mph. He was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings in a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four injury-shortened seasons with the Marines.