The Blue Jays have met with Shoki Oda, an 18-year-old Japanese pitching prospect skipping the NPB draft. He's among the top international names for 2027.

Japanese outlet Chunichi reported the meeting, and Francys Romero also confirmed Toronto's interest.

Former player Gosuke Kato represented the Jays, according to the report. Sanspo added that team nutritionist Yuka Sanui also attended.

Toronto isn't alone. Oda's camp has also met with the Phillies, Mets and Cardinals, with the Astros and Yankees among the other clubs expected to meet with him.

The stuff is impressive for his age. He sits in the upper 90s with his fastball and mixes in a changeup, cutter, splitter, slider and curveball, per MLB.com.

When could he actually sign? That's the complicated part.

The lockout could complicate any Shoki Oda signing

Oda falls under standard international free agent rules, much like Roki Sasaki did in the 2024-25 offseason. He'd be eligible to sign on Jan. 15, 2027.

But with the CBA expiring at the start of December, it's unclear how international signings will work during a lockout, or whether they'll happen at all next year.

That's different from Teruaki Sato, who's already posted and can sign before the deadline.

Toronto's Pacific Rim push is real. Beyond Kazuma Okamoto and Cody Ponce, the club has signed Seo-jun Moon and Kwon Si-Woo from South Korea, Cai-Chen Long from Taiwan and Tomoya Kinjo from Japan.

The Jays should go all in here. They chased Sasaki and lost, and a teenage arm with this kind of velocity and pitch mix is exactly the long-term bet a reshaped pipeline needs.

Signing an 18-year-old with a six-pitch mix is like planting an oak. You won't sit in its shade for years, but someday it could cover the whole yard.

The competition will be fierce. Big-market clubs like the Yankees and Mets have the same idea.

Oda won't help in 2027. But if Ross Atkins lands him, it could be the move fans remember long after this winter's free-agent deals fade.