The San Diego Padres might not have as strong a chance to land Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki this offseason as conflicting reports suggest.
Padres given dim chances to land Roki Sasaki
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale gave the Padres a paltry two percent chance to land the 23-year-old incoming rookie phenom behind the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who he ascribed a 98 percent chance to, saying this (h/t Patrick McAvoy of The Sporting News):
“I would say right now (there’s) a 98 percent chance goes to the Dodgers and a two percent chance he goes to the (San Diego Padres).”
Padres: Sasaki has ace potential written all over him
The Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball league announced earlier this fall that Sasaki would be posted for MLB teams to chase after. The standout righty finished his four-year career in Japan’s premier baseball league with a sparkling clean 2.02 career ERA and 0.883 WHIP. He topped out with 173 strikeouts in the 2022 campaign and pitched a perfect game on April 10 of that year.
Forecasted to be a future ace in the big leagues, Sasaki would be a formidable addition to the Padres’ rotation behind current ace Dylan Cease and reigning All-MLB Second-Team honoree Michael King. Nevertheless, San Diego’s chances of bringing him on board may be bleak.
Sasaki will have to decide between NL rivals & the field this offseason
The Dodgers have two of Sasaki’s compatriots in superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani and star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on their roster that could entice the young talent to settle in Los Angeles. Conversely, the Padres have his fellow countryman Yu Darvish on their roster to try and render that same effect.
That being said, Sasaki will ultimately have to decide if San Diego’s lifestyle, team culture, and winning chances trump that of L.A. and their defending World Series fabric.