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Roki Sasaki says he “strongly considered” signing with Blue Jays

Tonight, the Blue Jays welcome the Dodgers on the heels of Game 1 of the World Series. It’s going to be a good show, I think.

Obviously, a lot of attention is focused on Shohei Ohtani in Toronto. It’s only natural: he’s quite a player and came very close to signing with the Queen City club two years ago.

John Schneider even joked about wanting back the Blue Jays cap the club gave him when he visited the Blue Jays in Dunedin as a free agent.

But he’s not the only Japanese in this position.

Roki Sasaki, the starting pitcher who was injured during the season and has since settled in as the Dodgers’ closer , had also strongly considered the idea of getting along with the Blue Jays a year ago, when he arrived in North America. L.A. and Toronto were the finalists

Sasaki was asked yesterday if he had come close to signing with Toronto last winter, and he said yes. He says he “strongly considered” signing with the Blue Jays and can’t even explain why he chose the Dodgers in the end.

I think anyone can say why he chose the Dodgers. But his politeness honors him.

I don’t doubt that he came close to choosing Toronto because otherwise, the club wouldn’t have acquired Myles Straw’s contract from the Guardians to get their hands on international bonus money to give to the Japanese. But it makes sense to see him with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in the end.

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Jeff Hoffman had an incredible championship run

This season has been a rollercoaster ride for Jeff Hoffman. At times, trusting him was… difficult.

Having said that, John Schneider never planted his reliever publicly: he always defended him. His plan was undoubtedly to give him confidence for the future.

And it obviously worked.

Without fanfare, the Blue Jays closer was excellent against the Mariners in the championship series. In five innings of work, he gave up no runs to his opponents.

Only two opponents made it to the paths (one hit, one walk), and he averaged two guys in the mitt per inning. In short, he was strong and gave the Blue Jays exactly what he had to give.

I’m sure John Schneider is happy. Why would he be? Because his bullpen isn’t the best in the world and he needs his closer.

After all, the Blue Jays don’t have a ton of relievers who can be sent out in any situation. Louis Varland has pitched quite well and Seranthony Dominguez is also a good weapon, but otherwise?

And for the Blue Jays, having Hoffman allows them to beat fire with fire with Roki Sasaki, who has settled into the ninth-inning specialist chair for the Dodgers.

Both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays have non-elite bullpens. So, having Hoffman to compete with Sasaki late in the game means that the California bullpen doesn’t have an outrageous advantage.

Will Jeff Hoffman pitch well in the World Series? Find out in the next 10 days.

PMLB
  • Kevin Gausman is disappointed not to pitch tomorrow, but he puts the team first.

  • Bo Bichette continues to practice at second base.

  • Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani are expected to pitch games #3 and #4. Ohtani isn’t planning to give his Blue Jays cap back to John Schneider, by the way.

  • Alex Vesia: a family emergency will prevent him from starting the World Series.

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MLB in brief: John Schneider has a request for Shohei Ohtani

John Schneider has a request for Shohei Ohtani

The manager wants back the Blue Jays hat the Japanese got when he visited the club as a free agent.

Blue Jays in the spotlight

Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer (as outfielder and DH) are nominated for a Silver Stick. The club could also win the team honor.

Change of agent for Nick Castellanos

Transaction rumors intensify.

How they were built

The two surviving clubs have signed a lot of guys.

Zack Wheeler gets better

He should be ready for the 2026 season.

Ernie Clement and his World Series stock

He’ll give some to his family.

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Trey Yesavage to launch game #1 | The plan with Bo Bichette and George Springer

John Schneider spoke to the media.

Tomorrow’s starting pitcher will be Trey Yesavage. This was announced to the media one day before the first game of the series. He will face none other than Blake Snell for the Dodgers.

Obviously, this will be a big mandate. It’s a choice that was probably made because he’s good, but also because Kevin Gausman was used for one inning in Monday’s game.

But still: for a guy who started the year in Dunedin, was drafted in 2024 and had never played pro before April, it’s still a big challenge.

And if game #5 happens, he’ll be pitching on the road.

But if he can pitch as well as he has since the start of the series, the Blue Jays will have a chance of holding on for Game 1 of the 2025 World Series.

Who’s the hitter of choice?

Otherwise, Bo Bichette is the talk of the town. Schneider has said that his star player could play shortstop, second base (a shortstop can play anywhere, according to him) or DH.

Is he bluffing? Who knows.

As for George Springer, the manager is confident he’ll be able to play in the outfield. If so, that would allow Bichette to be the hitter of choice… but then again, I’ll believe it when I see it.

In short, anything is possible right now.

PMLB
  • John Schneider wants Shohei Ohtani to give back to the Blue Jays the merchandise he received when he was a free agent. Haha!

  • Chris Bassitt remains in the bullpen.

  • John Schneider believes in his group.

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Bo Bichette took rollers at second base yesterday

Recently, Bo Bichette declared that he will be ready to play in the World Series.

And it’s interesting to note that yesterday, he was spotted by TV cameras running to first base. And we have to admit, it went well for him.

The problem? The Blue Jays probably won’t want to put him at shortstop (his natural position) because he’s not 100% and the current recipe is working well. Even at 100%, Bichette doesn’t have the glove of Andres Gimenez.

And the DH position is filled by a George Springer who isn’t 100%. #Genou

So basically, unless Springer was capable of playing defensively, it was easy to think that the only solution was for Bo Bichette to stay on the bench and come out when needed.

But now Ben Nicholson-Smith has brought a new layer to the case: yesterday, Bichette took ground balls at second base, a position he’s never played in the Majors before.

He’s played the #4 position in the minors before – notably when John Schneider was his manager in AA New Hampshire. But in Toronto, it’s always been shortstop or the hitter’s choice position for him.

If Bichette were ever able to play second base (not a certainty), the Blue Jays would simply have to tamp down Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was the regular at the position against the Mariners, and bench him.

Seeing little Biche at second base would surely please a lot of clubs. Bichette will be a free agent in a few weeks, and everyone knows that a change of position would be ideal in his case.

I don’t know if John Schneider would really be willing to use Bichette at second base in the World Series (maybe it’s all a ruse to fool the Dodgers or a contingency plan), but let’s just say it’s very interesting, anyway.

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Winter League: Guardians prevent Emmanuel Clase from playing in Venezuela

Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary leave while MLB investigates alleged sports betting activities, including some on his own performances.

Whatever the results of the investigation, these allegations will follow Clase for the rest of his career, if career there is, and will continue to bring spotlight negatively on him and his team, whoever they may be. One need only think of George Springer and his 2017 Houston Astros nearly a decade later.

Still, with forehead all around his head, Clase reportedly asked his team for the opportunity to go play in the Venezuelan Winter League. And according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the Guardians will not allow Clase to play elsewhere, with good reason.

Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, it seems MLB had no problem with Clase’s participation, and the Guardians stepped in and blocked it. Well done.

This comes after Clase was also banned from playing in the Winter League of his native Dominican Republic. In this case, however, it was a decision on which neither MLB nor the Guardians had any say. In fact, Clase has taken legal action against the LIDOM for their decision.

One thing is clear: we’re not going in the right direction when it comes to sports betting and professional leagues. The latter continue to partner with the major sports betting platforms as a major source of revenue, and the scandals are piling up.

Will sports betting prove to be the scandal of this generation of Major League Baseball players, as steroids have been in the past? Let’s hope not, even if it is becoming a scourge in sport in general. The NBA is also shaken by sports betting this morning.

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Mason Miller: expect him to be a starter in 2026

For nearly a year (summer 2024 to summer 2025), I was saying the same thing about the A’s management of Mason Miller: trade him or make him a starting pitcher in the rotation.

He was eventually traded to the Padres at the 2025 deadline.

The reason was simple: not only does he have the arsenal to make that transition, and not only has it been a fad for some relievers in recent years… but, above all, a closer in Oakland/Sacramento doesn’t protect many wins.

But if he had the potential to be a starter in 2025, he can still be one in 2026. And on that subject, Padres boss A.J. Preller opened the door to his pitcher being a member of the rotation in 2026.

To me, it’s obvious where this is headed.

In 2025, the club wanted to win in the short term by picking him up and didn’t necessarily have a glaring need in the rotation. Plus, Miller was in the midst of a great season in the bullpen and there was no point in moving him from there.

But what about next season, with a full off-season to make the transition? It’s a different story.

Not only would Miller be good – in my opinion – as a starter because of his velocity, but the Padres are also likely to lose the services of Michael King and Dylan Cease as free agents.

And given that the owners will want to cut corners (including reducing the club’s payroll a bit), I don’t see the San Diego club being able to adequately replace these guys in the starting pitching corps.

I feel Preller has pretty much shouted that he wants to get Miller out of the bullpen and into the rotation. And besides, the bullpen is a position of strength for the Padres, who already have a ninth-inning specialist, and a place where there are more solutions on the market.

PMLB
  • Good listening.

  • Not easy, the pressure of a big prospect.

  • Seen the same.

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Passion MLB – The Podcast, Episode 86

Just before the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, Charles-Alexis Brisebois and Sébastien Berrouard look back on the Championship Series, including the one involving the Blue Jays, and set the scene for the Fall Classic.

Enjoy!

We remind you that people who want to listen to us live can do so every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Facebook, on X and on YouTube… but in the playoffs, the dates may vary depending on the schedule. We record live to answer everyone’s questions.

However, those who want to listen to us in a more traditional podcast format can also do so by visiting all the good podcast platforms at any time.

SpotifyYouTubeApple PodcastAmazon Music

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Angels: only one-year contract for manager Kurt Suzuki

For weeks, it looked like the Angels were going to hire Albert Pujols as the club’s next manager.

The former power hitter was the owner’s choice, and negotiations were underway to discuss his potential assistants. Everything was in place to see him return to Anaheim through the front door.

But in the end, it didn’t happen. And in light of the situation with Kurt Suzuki, who was just named manager of the Angels this week, one has to wonder how well the Angels handled the Albert Pujols file.

We don’t know what kind of contract was negotiated with Pujols, but we do know that Suzuki has only a one-year contract.

Normally, in baseball, when a manager is in the last year of his contract, a club tries to extend his deal to avoid unnecessary distractions.

But Suzuki just happens . The Angels are truly pathetic.

Normally, when a manager comes in during the season and has the interim tag, he only has a one-year contract. So, in my eyes, Suzuki is an interim manager for the Angels, an organization that has no idea how to keep a manager since Mike Scioscia left.

Since 2019, Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery (interim) have been installed in the club’s manager’s chair. To this, we now add Suzuki.

It’s worth mentioning that GM Perry Minasian is in the last year of his contract, and that’s probably why the Angels went the way they did. But the problem is, if you don’t trust your GM, you can’t let him choose another manager.

Presumably, the Angels owner doesn’t want to pay a manager during the potential 2027 work stoppage (which seems inevitable) if he’s not the (next) GM’s man. But if that’s the case, it’s bad management.

And above all, it’s a lack of respect for Suzuki.

I hope the Angels’ new manager does a good job and finds a job with a real team down the road – kind of like Skip Schumaker with the Marlins and Rangers.

PMLB
  • In San Francisco, Tony Vitello would have had a contract for at least another year. Now that’s confidence.

  • Speaking of Tony Vitello: Curt Schilling would like to replace him in Tennessee.

  • David Ross, Mark DeRosa and John Gibbons won’t be the next Braves manager, believes Mark Bowman.

  • He’s on a plane to Toronto.

  • Mariners want to keep Josh Naylor.

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MLB in brief: Tony Vitello backed by Max Scherzer | Freddie Freeman expects to be booed in Toronto

Tony Vitello backed by Max Scherzer

The pitcher is a big believer in his friend, recently appointed Giants manager. The latter took a pay cut from the NCAA to manage the Giants.

What’s more, some scouts and managers find this hire so left-field (Vitello has never played or managed in the pros) that Buster Posey may have put his job on the line. If it doesn’t work out, there’ll be tears.

Ring #3

A legend will add a third ring to his collection this year. It will be Max Scherzer or Clayton Kershaw.

Freddie Freeman expects to be booed in Toronto

Some will applaud him, others will boo him with respect.

Remember that his parents are Canadiens.

Praise for the Blue Jays

Andrew Friedman respects his World Series opponents. The Dodgers president wasn’t born yesterday…

Francisco Lindor undergoes surgery

It’s a minor elbow procedure. He should be ready for camp.

The finalists for the Golden Sticks in the Nationals

Who will win?

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