Blue Crush: Dodgers Hopes of Landing Rōki Sasaki Crushed by…

Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki has been labeled as baseball’s biggest bargain since he will join stateside baseball as an international amateur free agent. While Sasaki is limited to earning a salary from a team’s international bonus pool, the club that ends up landing the 23-year-old pitcher gains an ultra-talented player.

The two teams that have constantly been in the running for Sasaki are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. While there have been other teams reportedly interested in Sasaki, only the Dodgers and Padres have been the consistent duo mentioned in the Sasaki sweepstakes.

Over the next month, everyone will be waiting to find out which team Sasaki chooses. The latest update doesn’t exactly bode well for the Dodgers, though.

Several industry sources believe the Padres are in a strong position to land Sasaki, according to Francys Romero. While the Dodgers certainly have much to offer a young, developing pitcher like Sasaki, there is speculation that the Padres could win this battle.

The Padres offer Sasaki the chance to be San Diego’s shining star, something he could never be in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are full of Hollywood’s finest, as almost everyone is practically a star.

Sasaki would be the premier starting pitcher for the Padres. Meanwhile, Sasaki would be just another pitcher in the mix for a Dodgers rotation full of aces.

Additionally, the relationship between Sasaki and the Dodgers could’ve been tainted after the allegations of an illegal deal between both parties surfaced. Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, had to address the rumors and deny the allegations.

“While a bunch of executives who should know me better and do a lot of business with me insult my integrity by insinuating that I would be a part of some type of nefarious agreement,” Wolfe toldThe Athletic, “in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship.”

Since Wolfe’s statement, the Padres have continued to emerge as the potential favorites to land Sasaki. The Dodgers building a dynasty led other teams to speculate the organization would go as far as breaking the rules to stay on top. The incident could have dissuaded both parties from reaching an agreement.

Furthermore, after the Dodgers signed free agent pitcher Blake Snell, Sasaki no longer seems like a necessity.

Make no mistake, the Japanese sensation would make a great addition to the rotation. But as of late, the Padres seem to have the upper hand.