Blue Jays are set up for failure after Hail Mary meeting with Roki Sasaki

The Toronto Blue Jays landed a meeting with the hottest name on the starting pitching market in 23-year-old Japanese prospect Roki Sasaki. While the Jays don't have any financial advantage to sign Sasaki, Toronto must convince the young right-hander that north of the border is his ideal landing spot. That will be easier said than done.

Sasaki is reportedly most interested in organizational culture, long-term roster outlook, marketability and most importantly pitcher development. Sasaki is taking a similar approach to Shohei Ohtani's entrance to MLB from Japan. Of course, Ohtani eventually signed with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Blue Jays biggest advantage was seemingly stripped of them in this case, as teams are limited in how much money they can offer Sasaki.

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Blue Jays interest in Roki Sasaki doesn't make a whole lot of sense

A big fat check will not help Ross Atkins this time, and the Blue Jays aren't exactly impressive as it pertains to pitcher development, organizational culture or long-term outlook. Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough really drove that point home in their report from The Athletic:

"The Blue Jays do not seem an obvious fit for Sasaki, who is still maturing as a pitcher and thought to be heavily weighing the quality of a team’s pitching development in his decision-making. The last homegrown Jays pitcher to make 30 starts in back-to-back seasons was right-hander Marcus Stroman, and he was developed by the previous front office," Rosenthal and McCullough wrote.

If Sasaki is drawing from the experience of other Japanese players in Toronto, that also won't help the Blue Jays much. Yusei Kikuchi has improved immensely after Ross Atkins traded him to the Houston Astros. Kikuchi signed a long-term deal with the Angels this winter, cashing in on impressive starts made after he left Toronto.

There was also the Ohtani fiasco just last winter, and while there was initially some hope he'd sign in Toronto, the Blue Jays inevitably finished in second place to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Perhaps there is more to the Blue Jays-Sasaki fit than meets the eye, but on the surface it appears Atkins is being used as leverage once again. The Padres and Dodgers – both teams which have been linked to Sasaki since the beginning – are favorites to sign the 23-year-old for a reason. Nothing to see here, folks.