Time is ticking for Roki Sasaki to make his MLB free agency decision and the San Diego Padres may have a new reason to side-eye the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 11th hour of their race to land his services.
Padres’ foes land 2nd meeting with desired FA Roki Sasaki
According to CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson, the new international amateur free agent period will open on Wednesday. That will give Sasaki eight days until Jan. 23 to decide which team he’ll sign with. The Padres, Dodgers, and Blue Jays are the three remaining teams in the hunt. However, as Anderson relayed from an original report from The Athletic, he’s set to take a second look at the Dodgers and all they have to offer, with a special caveat:
“Japanese ace Roki Sasaki’s recruitment tour will include a second meeting with the Dodgers, with this one taking place in Los Angeles and allowing for the inclusion of other players, according to The Athletic,” Anderson wrote.
Los Angeles will have Sasaki’s compatriots in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto present to sell him on making the move to L.A. This latest development serves as a major power play on the part of the defending World Series champions.
- Padres ‘cautiously optimistic’ about landing Japanese superstar
- Padres & Dodgers among 3 finalists to land Japanese star
- Padres avoid arbitration with ace on eight-figure deal
Padres also had 2nd meeting with Sasaki without talent present
The Padres should not have much reason to fear, though. Despite the Dodgers’ muscle and ability to utilize their stars to woo the desirable prospective superstar, San Diego also met for a second time with “the Monster of the Reiwa Era” over the weekend, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The Padres have one of Sasaki’s fellow countrymen too, and mentor at that in star hurler Yu Darvish, on top of a winning franchise that they likely persuaded him with.
Thus, it’s all up to Sasaki now. San Diego got their second meeting, and now L.A. will be the last that Sasaki sees of big league courtship prior to making final deliberations. All offseason long, both franchises have been in a seesaw as the perceived favored landing spot for the future ace. The next week and change will settle the battle once and for all. The Padres should feel good about their chances nonetheless.
