Padres Have Special Connection That Could Land Them Roki Sasaki

Could the Padres sign Sasaki?

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they are posting top pitching prospect Roki Sasaki on Friday night, meaning that Sasaki will soon be able to sign with an MLB team. If Sasaki is officially posted in November, there will be a 45-day window for a MLB team to sign Sasaki. If the Marines officially post Sasaki on or after Dec. 1, he will be able to sign during next year's signing period.

Could the San Diego Padres have an inside track to landing Sasaki?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been called the favorites to sign Sasaki by multiple reports, including Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

It's not hard to understand why the Dodgers are viewed as favorites to bring in Sasaki. The Dodgers have siginifcant ties to Japan, and have two of the biggest Japanese-born baseball stars locked up long term in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani and Yamamoto are each signed for at least nine more seasons with Los Angeles. They also have a Japanese-born manager in Dave Roberts.

The Dodgers are the odds on favorites, but that doesn't mean the Padres aren't in the running or don't have an edge to sign Sasaki. The Padres have ace Yu Darvish, who is reportedly close to Sasaki. Darvish pitched alongside Sasaki during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, though Ohtani and Yamamoto were also part of that team with Sasaki.

In September, before the Marines announced their plans to post Sasaki, USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale said he believes that teams on the West Coast have an advantage in signing Sasaki due to the proximity to Japan. Nightengale noted that Ohtani and Yamamoto could help the Dodgers sign Sasaki, but not to count out the Padres because of Darvish.

After the Marines announced that they are posting Sasaki, Nightengale said on X that all 30 teams believe the Dodgers will sign Sasaki.

Roki Sasaki, who perhaps has the best pure talent of any pitcher on earth, is officially being posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.
30 teams will try to sign him.
30 teams also believe he’s going to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 9, 2024

If the Padres manage to land Sasaki, he will join an already strong rotation featuring Darvish, Dylan Cease, and Michael King. With Joe Musgrove expected to miss the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery, adding Sasaki could be extra beneficial.

Over his Nippon Professional Baseball career, Sasaki has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts.