Sasaki Saga Twist: Dodgers Lose Out on Japanese Superstar to Arch-Rival

For several weeks the Los Angeles Dodgers were touted as the favorites to sign Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki; however, as of late, another NL West team has emerged to be the team with the upperhand in the Sasaki sweepstakes.

The San Diego Padres are poised to land the 23-year-pitcher, according to ESPN’s David Schoenfield.

“I’ll stick to my original prediction here, although it’s just guessing at this point,” Schoenfield wrote. “From a career standpoint, it makes sense for him to go to a team in a good park for pitchers, so that could mean any of the West Coast teams (aside from the A’s), who might already have a small geographical advantage anyway.

“The Mariners can certainly tout their pitcher-friendly ballpark and recent success in developing young starters (and, so far, keeping them healthy). The Dodgers can pitch their winning ways. The Padres can sell their smaller market and playing alongside Yu Darvish, Sasaki’s favorite player as a kid. The Rangers and Cubs have been mentioned as possibilities. And, of course, don’t rule out the Yankees or Mets if the big-market “issue” isn’t really an issue.”

Winter inevitably is a time of misinformation in the baseball world. But the fate of free agents is usually a guessing game. Schoenfield’s best guess is the Padres, and for good reason.

Although the Dodgers are the reigning World Series champions, the team already has a numbers of stars, not to mention aces, on the roster. Sasaki would be just another one. Meanwhile, joining the Padres would mean Sasaki would get the mentorship of Darvish for a few seasons while also emerging as San Diego’s gem.

Additionally, the media horde in Los Angeles can be difficult for a young, developing pitcher like Sasaki. Joining the Padres would mean Sasaki has the opportunity to land endorsements, without being in the shadow of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Sasaki would be the face of the Padres, while he would just another star player in Los Angeles. Sasaki is the best bargain in baseball. While he is poised to be a star, he won’t cost much since teams can only offer him money from their international bonus pool.

Sasaki is projected to sign in the next international signing period, which would mean the Dodgers are among teams with the least amount of money available. That could also be a disadvantage for Los Angeles.