Just In: LA Dodgers Long Shot to Land Japanese Ace…

As the MLB offseason continues, the name Roki Sasaki has come under the radar of several teams. Some of the big names in MLB are keen to land the Japanese ace, with the Los Angeles Dodgers being one of them. However, MLB insider Jim Bowden believes the 2024 World Series winners are ‘unlikely’ to sign him.

A few days ago, Ken Rosenthal said that if the pitcher gets posted to the MLB, the Dodgers would be “heavy favorites” to sign him. This was also backed by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

A reason why many consider the Dodgers as the favorites to sign him is due to their connection with Japanese players. Last season, they signed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on massive deals.

Bowden though believes other teams such as the San Diego Padres, the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Mets, and the Atlanta Braves are more likely to end up with Sasaki than the Dodgers.

Sasaki needs pitching development, which does make the Dodgers a fit, but it also gives advantages to teams such as the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Mets, and Atlanta Braves, who all have strong pitching development programs. It’ll be fascinating to see which team he chooses. I’m just not buying the narrative that it’ll be the Dodgers. Based on what I’m hearing, I think the Padres, Rays, Mets, and Braves are all more likely to sign Sasaki than the Dodgers, and several other teams will be in the mix.

Apart from these teams, the New York Yankees are also expected to be in the mix for him. After missing out on some marquee pitching talent last season, the Yanks would like to have a strong arm for next season. Recently, coach Aaron Boone called him a “unique and special talent” and hoped that they would be in the mix for him in the upcoming days.

Ben Verlander claims Padres are likely to land Roki Sasaki over Los Angeles Dodgers

Since the news regarding Roki Sasaki broke out, several experts, insiders, and analysts have given their thoughts regarding this move. Ben Verlander, the MLB Analyst for FOX Sports, has now shared his opinion on this as well. He has picked the San Diego Padres over the Los Angeles Dodgers to win this race.

On his “Flippin Bats” podcast, the former MLB star pointed out Padres star, Yu Darvish , is a mentor to Sasaki and thus has a good relationship with him. He thus speculated that the Padres might have an edge over their division rivals.

I have him going to the Dodgers. I think the Padres are really in play here. Roki Sasaki and Yu Darvish are very close. Yu Darvish is a mentor to Roki Sasaki. Roki Sasaki’s slider was developed with the help of Yu Darvish…there are a lot of signs pointing to the Padres.

Ben Verlander said on Flippin Bats podcast

Verlander also added that Darvish and Sasaki have the same agent. He though pointed out that Yamamoto and Sasaki have the same against as well and told the fans to take this with “a grain of salt“.

One major thing is that Sasaki is available to 30 teams in the league. Due to his age, he will not be able to a sign a huge contract like Yamamoto did last year.

As per MLB rules, an international free agent has to be 25 years or above to sign a major league deal with an MLB team. With Sasaki currently being 23, he can only sign a minor league deal which comes as a huge boost to many small-market teams.