Finalists emerge for Japanese star ace Roki Sasaki

That process of elimination had already begun before the finalists were chosen. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported that the Giants were eliminated. Ben Badler of Baseball America reported that the Mets were "unlikely" to sign Sasaki. Jack Curry from YES Network reported the same for the Yankees. The Rangers and Cubs were also reportedly out of the running.

However, one team gained a degree of hope in the late stages. Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCollough of The Athletic reported that the Blue Jays met with Sasaki in Toronto last week.

Rated as the top international prospect, Sasaki has the potential to step in immediately as a top-of-the-rotation starter. His fastball and splitter are both considered to be plus-plus offerings, earning a 70 grade from MLB.com. He also has a borderline plus slider that generates plenty of whiffs. Sasaki also has impressive command of his arsenal, consistently throwing all three of his pitches for strikes. 

Sasaki's performance for the Chiba Lotte Marines illustrated how dominant his arsenal can be. He posted a 2.10 ERA and a 0.894 WHiP over his 394.2 NPB innings, striking out 505 batters with 88 walks. Sasaki allowed just four home runs during that time, showing that he would not be limited by any ballpark.