Manny Machado Seems to Take Shot at Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Over Free Agency Decision

Matt Levine | Feb 1, 2025

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had an incredible offseason, adding to an already stacked team. But the signing of free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki may have been the best addition of the winter.

The young right-hander from Japan comes to the Dodgers as a low-cost addition but with high-reward upside. Los Angeles won the recruiting battle for the right-hander, beating out teams such as the rival San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.

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There were many who expected Sasaki to land with the Padres but in the end, the Dodgers prevailed. Some around the league believed that Sasaki already knew he would land with the Dodgers but still went through the entire process nonetheless.

You can now add Padres star third baseman Manny Machado to that list. During the Padres FanFest, Machado seemed to take a shot at the new Dodgers pitcher because of his free agent decision.

"“I think he had his mind set already on where he was going,” Machado said. “That’s just my opinion.”

Manny Machado said he doesn’t think the Padres’ ownership situation affected the team’s chances of signing Roki Sasaki. “I think he had his mind set already on where he was going,” Machado said. “That’s just my opinion.”

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) February 1, 2025

Machado can have his opinion but Sasaki was free to sign with any team in baseball. San Diego wasn't able to convince him, likely for a few different reasons.

The Padres had all the chances in the world to land Sasaki but he ultimately picked the Dodgers. Los Angeles has proven itself to be the better organization over the years and Sasaki made his choice.

When these two teams meet up this season, we should all expect fireworks. This has become one of, if not the, best rivalries in baseball and it should only get more fun this year.

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