
The Los Angeles Dodgers are now presumed to be the heavy favorite to land Japanese star hurler Roki Sasaki.
The three-team race for the 23-year-old precocious pitcher was narrowed to two on Friday. It was revealed that the San Diego Padres no longer view themselves as having a chance at Sasaki after tacking on standout Dominican talents Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez.
Dodgers only have Blue Jays to beat out for Roki Sasaki
Consequently, the Dodgers are now the top team left, as MLB Insider Mike Rodriguez reported:
“Source: Roki Sasaki is close to deal with the Dodgers. The source tells me that it will be a big surprise if Sasaki goes to Toronto,” Rodriguez published on X on Friday.
Dodgers have quite the sell for Sasaki to consider
The Dodgers left the last impression on the Nippon Professional Baseball star following their second meeting with him last week. It is also believed that Sasaki’s relationship with Los Angeles’ frontline starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a major draw for him.

That, coupled with having another compatriot in Shohei Ohtani around, and All-Star Tyler Glasnow attesting to how the franchise can satisfy his desire to develop as comprehensively as possible, makes L.A. hard to pass on.
Blue Jays can combat Dodgers with financial perks for Sasaki
The Toronto Blue Jays are the other team gunning for Sasaki. They just freed up more international bonus pool money by trading for outfielder Myles Straw on Friday. Thus, Toronto may try to flex its financial muscle by offering the flamethrower a more lucrative offer than L.A. while also selling him on being able to leverage three markets to grow his brand, Canada being the third next to the United States and Japan.
Nevertheless, the reigning World Series champion Dodgers appear to have the upper hand with seven days left for Sasaki to make his decision.