According to Fancred’s Jon Heyman, the Blue Jays made a “strong play” for Japanese southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, who officially signed with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet confirmed the report, saying that the team was “clearly intrigued” by Kikuchi, noting that the organization “did their share of background work”.
Previously, it was suggested, both by Nicholson-Smith and his Sportsnet colleague Shi Davidi, that the team had legitimate interest in signing him, seeing as the team did, per Davidi, plan to meet up with his agent Scott Boras when they held meetings with interested clubs in Los Angeles near the end of the December.