The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a whirlwind week.
Prior to Thanksgiving, they inked two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell to a massive five-year contract, locking in another star pitcher for their juggernaut rotation.
Now, over the last 24 hours, the Dodgers have been ruled as a finalist on this year's top free agent, Juan Soto, then out of the running, and then in again by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
According to @JeffPassan, all teams that have made an offer to Juan Soto are still in including the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also said that there will be meetings over the weekend, which can end in a decision on Soto’s next team. pic.twitter.com/h2kbwoXxSD
— steven | LAD (2024 World Series Champs) (@brokeboysteven_) December 4, 2024
While their pursuit of Soto could be coming to an end soon, their chase for Roki Sasaki has yet to begin. Thanks to the league's international posting system quirks, the young Japanese phenom isn't expected to be made available until after the Winter Meetings next week.
However, some cold water has already been poured over the Dodgers' fire, as BBWAA member Francys Romero has reported that an NL West rival looks primed to be Sasaki's top landing spot in free agency.
Sources: Several industry sources believe the San Diego Padres are in a strong position to land Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 4, 2024
Padres make all the sense in the world for Sasaki
When looking at potential suitors for the 23-year-old stud, the Dodgers always came to mind as a "perfect" fit because of their geographical location on the West Coast (being one of the closest MLB teams to Japan), their global branding, and their history with courting and amplifying Japanese stars, including most recently winning the World Series with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
For those reasons and more, the Dodgers remain a huge threat to land Sasaki. Other teams, like the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox all have intriguing pitches to offer, but each of them is lacking at least one of the factors that makes the Dodgers so attractive as a landing spot.
The one team that can feasibly compete with L.A. in every aspect is the San Diego Padres. They're the employer of Yu Darvish, one of Sasaki's heroes and mentors. In addition, Sasaki's representation, which includes Darvish's agent Joel Wolfe, has not been shy in its admiration of Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
San Diego, unlike their rivals in Los Angeles, also has a clear need in their rotation for Sasaki. Whilst the Dodgers have Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and likely Clayton Kershaw rounding out their staff, the Padres have Darvish, Dylan Cease, and Michael King pencilled in as their top triumvirate.
Randy Vásquez and Matt Waldron are the current projected No. 4 and 5 starters, though neither was particularly impressive in 2024. And, on a more somber note, the team will be without ace Joe Musgrove as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Thus, there's a need for another surefire stud in the rotation, and Sasaki most certainly fits the bill. In total, his Nippon Professional Baseball résumé reads like that of a video game stat line: 29-15 record, 2.10 ERA, 505 strikeouts, 88 walks, all in 394 2/3 innings in 64 starts over four seasons.
Given that he'll cost just the league-minimum salary in 2025, he's about as perfect a fit for a Padres team that needs more elite talent but already has more than $200 million committed to its payroll next year.
If nothing else, keeping him away from the Dodgers' superstar-consuming tendrils is reason enough for the Padres to go full bore in their pursuit of Roki Sasaki.