MLB Rumors: Padres, Blue Jays Make Moves With Potential Roki Sasaki Implications

Major League Baseball’s offseason continues to unfold with spring training camps opening in less than a month. In just a few weeks, pitchers and catchers will report to work. The exhibition will therefore not take long to start before fortunately giving way to the regular season. (Although the Cubs and Dodgers will technically begin the season with a series in Japan, Opening Day is still recognized as March 27.) Below, CBS Sports has compiled all of the most notable news, moves and rumors Friday for your convenience.

Blue Jays acquire Straw and bonus money

The Blue Jays announced Friday that they have obtained outfielder Myles Straw, cash and international bonus signing space from the Guardians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays would earn around $2 million. Nicholson-Smith cautions that this trade does not necessarily mean Sasaki has informed the Blue Jays of a decision on where he intends to sign.

Shi Davidi adds that the Jays will receive $3.75 million in cash.

Straw, 30, is a former Gold Glove Award-winning center fielder. He fell out of favor in Cleveland after hitting .229/.295/.284 (66 OPS+) over the past three seasons. Straw signed an extension with the Guardians in April 2022 that stipulates he will earn at least $15.25 million more over the next two years (including buyouts of two club options for the 2027-28 seasons) .

It remains to be seen whether the Blue Jays will carry Straw on their roster or view him as financial ballast.

Padres begin international signings

The Padres will sign left-hander and international amateur free agent Carlos Alvarez, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. This is an intriguing development considering the Padres are considered one of three finalists (alongside the Dodgers and Blue Jays) vying for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

Each of those teams had, during the early days of the new international amateur signing period, kept their powder dry and had not finalized any deals – the Dodgers had even allowed some players with whom they had reached handle deals to hand to sign elsewhere while waiting for Sasaki. to make his decision. The fact that the Padres are committing money to Alvarez could be an indication that they don’t believe they win the Sasaki sweepstakes, as it means they will have less available funds to offer him. (“Could” should be considered the key word here.)

Alvarez, 17, was ranked by MLB.com as the 39th best prospect in the class. From their report: “Alvarez works consistently with his heater in the low 90s, while skillfully deploying a biting slider and changeup with a big fade to build his current arsenal. He has short arm action from a larger frame, but it’s raw that excites reviewers at this early stage of its development.