Yu Darvish Not Pleased With Japanese Stars Choosing Dodgers Over Padres, Wants to Change That With Roki Sasaki

Eva Geitheim | Nov 19, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres ace Yu Darvish has reportedly been disappointed with several baseball stars from Japan following Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers rather than joining him and signing with the Padres, according to Yuri Karasawa on the Baseball Bar-B-Cast podcast. Darvish is hoping this is not the case with top pitching prospect Roki Sasaki, who will be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines sometime this offseason.

Per Karasawa, there is some belief in Japan that the Padres are also in contention to sign Sasaki, not just the Dodgers. There is wide belief for multiple reasons, especially in the United States, that the Dodgers are the favorites to land Sasaki after he was posted. Karasawa made it clear that the Padres should not be counted out of the race. Karasawa cited that Darvish and Sasaki have a very close relationship, and that Darvish acts as almost a second pitching coach to him.

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Karasawa did note that many among the Japanese media do believe that Sasaki will join the Dodgers, but called the Dodgers and the Padres the "obvious" choices. Both the Dodgers and Padres have ties to Japan and players with ties to Sasaki.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the most notable name to sign with the Dodgers after Ohtani joined the team. It's, of course, more disappointing for these stars to sign with the Dodgers than another team since the Padres and Dodgers are National League West rivals. The rivalry between the two teams became even more contentious this season as the two teams briefly battled for the division and later faced each other during the NL Division Series, which the Dodgers came back to win.

Darvish reportedly even petitioned for the Chiba Lotte Marines to post Sasaki last year, but Sasaki did not end up getting posted.

Sasaki reportedly is seeking comfort, stability, lifestyle, and a good track record with player development in the team he does end up signing with. Both the Dodgers and Padres have provided those things to multiple players. The Dodgers, on paper and when not injured, have one of the top rotations in all of baseball, while the Padres have a tremendous pitching coach in Ruben Niebla, as well as Darvish as a mentor.

If either the Dodgers or Padres ultimately sign Sasaki, it will give that team a major edge in the rivalry.