Roki Sasaki, the prized Japanese pitching prospect who has had scouts drooling over his potential since high school, has chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his major league team, he announced on Instagram on Friday.

Cleveland agreed to a long-term deal in April 2022 with Straw, but he hit just .221 with no homers, 32 RBIs and 21 stolen bases that year, then batted .238 with one homer, 29 RBIs and 20 steals in 2023.

The Los Angeles Dodgers seem like the favorites to land Roki Sasaki, but the Toronto Blue Jays' trade with the Cleveland Guardians for more international bonus pool money suggests Ross Atkins still likes his team's chances.

At his age and talent level, Sasaki folds in perfectly for a Dodgers club that was already planning on running a six-man rotation.

The reigning champion Dodgers and Blue Jays are the final teams standing from a pool that included the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Rangers and Giants — with the Padres being taken out of the equation on Friday, according to Francys Romero.

The Toronto Blue Jays swung a trade on Friday, just minutes after we heard they were looking to acquire more international bonus money as part of their hope to

The Blue Jays were announced as one of the three reported finalists for Sasaki, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Toronto acquired $2 million in international signing bonus pool allocation from the Cleveland Guardians that could be used in its pursuit of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki as part of a trade Friday that also brought unperforming outfielder Myles Straw to the Blue Jays.

The Dodgers left the last impression on the Nippon Professional Baseball star following their second meeting with him last week. It is also believed that Sasaki’s relationship with Los Angeles’ frontline starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a major draw for him.