Padres Offseason Impulsion! Rōki Sasaki Bombshell Leaves San Diego Reeling
The San Diego Padres offseason has gotten worse.
The Padres are one of two teams that has not added a player to the major league roster this offseason. Sheel Seidler, the widow of former team owner Pete Seidler, sued her two brothers-in-law for control of the organization. Trade rumors have swirled around pitcher Dylan Cease and second baseman Luis Arraez as the Padres look to cut payroll. It is not the type of offseason one would imagine that a team that won 93 games and gave the Dodgers their most difficult test in the postseason would have.
Meanwhile, other contenders in the NL West have gotten better. The Diamondbacks added a top-of-the-rotation starter in Corbin Burnes while acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor in a trade with the Guardians. The Giants signed shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract, and future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander on a one-year, $15 million deal.
Then there are the Dodgers. They have gotten stronger as they look to become the first repeat winners of the World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell signed a five-year deal to add another frontline starter to the rotation. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez returned on a three-year, $66 million contract. Outfielder Michael Conforto, relievers Blake Treinen and Geovanny Gallegos and infielder Hyeseong Kim fortified potential weaknesses.
The big prize landed on Friday. Pitcher Roki Sasaki announced that he was signing with the Dodgers, spurning the Blue Jays and Padres in the process. That loss is even more painful for the Padres as they not only built their offseason plans around Sasaki but will have to face him for the foreseeable future.
Where do the Padres go from here? There are holes at short, in the outfield and in the bullpen. If Cease and/or Arraez are traded, that opens up another area of need. And the Padres are looking to shed payroll. Losing Sasaki will make an already-brutal offseason even worse.
