Toronto Blue Jays Still Looking For Starting Pitching After Missing Out on Roki Sasaki

After a very disappointing Friday, the Jays are looking to move forward with the rest of the offseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (0) pitches against the New York Mets during the second inning of game five of the NLCS during the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After missing out on Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly still looking for starting pitching help.

Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet wrote the following:

As their pursuit of Sasaki underlined, they could use more starting pitching and they remain involved in that market, according to sources

The Jays already have five starters in Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez, but they are evidently looking to upgrade. If they were able to land a starter, they could potentially put Rodriguez in the bullpen, helping strengthen that unit which was one of the worst in baseball last season.

As for starting pitcher options still available? Jack Flaherty and Nick Pivetta probably sit at the top of the market, though Pivetta comes with an annoying qualifying offer attached. Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, and Lance Lynn are also still available but only Quintana is probably a definitive upgrade over Rodriguez.

The Jays are coming off a season in which they went 74-88 and finished last in the American League East, missing the playoffs. Missing out on Sasaki represents the latest in a frustrating string of misses for the organization, as they missed out on Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Teoscar Hernandez in the last two offseasons.

There is still time to salvage this offseason, as the team has been connected to both Anthony Santander and Alex Bregman over the winter. According to reports, they have been actively negotiating with Santander's camp as well.

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