Decision day is almost here. Beginning Wednesday, international free agents can sign with major-league teams. It’s usually a day populated by teenagers from Latin America posing for photos with a contract on the table in front of them and a fresh new cap atop their head.

And they knew another generational Japanese arm, Roki Sasaki, wouldn't be far behind. It was a chance, as some with the club have termed it, to "paint Japan blue" and enhance both the team's roster talent and international brand.