Yu Darvish Was Not Part of Padres Meeting With Roki Sasaki

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jan 1, 2025

Oct 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (11) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning during game five of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball officially posted Roki Sasaki on Dec. 10.

Following the announcement, Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, invited all 30 Major League Baseball teams to submit presentations for the pitcher in a letter sent to each organization.

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Twenty teams took advantage and several teams met with Wolfe and Sasaki in Los Angeles, but per the pitcher's request, no current players were present at the meetings. That meant any recruiting pitch from Yu Darvish could not be done face-to-face.

“One of the criteria for the meetings is that Roki asked that no players were to attend,” Wolfe said. “There were a couple of teams that had a video from one or two players, but for the most part, it was the general manager, possibly an assistant GM, the manager, the pitching coach and people from the bio-mechanics performance and training staff.”

Sasaki also didn't want travel to any team’s stadium or city.

During a conference call with the media, Wolfe shared limited details, revealing only that Sasaki had met with "a select few teams" in recent weeks. Sasaki is expected to make his decision sometime between Jan. 15, when the international signing period begins, and Jan. 23, the deadline for his posting window.

“This is a very unique process and a very unique player,” Wolfe said.

Sasaki isn’t eligible to sign until the international signing period opens on Jan. 15, but his decision must be finalized by Jan. 24, when his posting window closes. According to his agent, Sasaki is unlikely to make his choice immediately after the signing period begins.

“He is definitely driving the ship and calling the shots,” Wolfe said.

At 23 years old, Sasaki is classified as an international amateur under MLB rules, which means teams can only sign him to a minor league contract using their international bonus pool money, typically ranging from $5 million to $7 million.

Had Roki Sasaki waited two more years to make the move from Japan, he might have sparked a bidding war similar to the one that earned Yoshinobu Yamamoto a record-breaking 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers last winter.

Reports have suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants were among the teams granted initial meetings with Roki Sasaki, though his representatives have not confirmed this.

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