The San Diego Padres were unable to slay the giant in the NLDS, but in the end, there wasn’t a more compelling challenger to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ National League crown. The Padres are loaded with offensive firepower and home to a strong rotation, helmed by a trio of bonafide aces in Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish.
The latter could end up being quite important as the Padres zero in on their biggest offseason prize: Roki Sasaki.
A 23-year-old, right-handed pitcher with high-90s heat and a ghostly splitter, Sasaki is viewed by some as the best pitching prospect in baseball. He was posted this week, meaning he has until Jan. 23 to agree to terms on an MLB contract. Since he doesn’t have the requisite experience to be considered a pro, Sasaki will sign as an international amateur prospect, capping his salary around $7-8 million annually. That is a major discount for somebody who would otherwise challenge Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325 million payday from last winter.
He is expected to land on the west coast, with the Dodgers and Padres emerging as the “clear and heavy favorites” to sign the burgeoning ace, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Dodgers have been the dreaded frontrunners for a while, but momentum appears to be swinging in the Padres’ direction a bit.
To add fuel to the fire, San Diego GM Mike Shildt sure sounds confident in his chances.
Padres are extremely confident in their chances of landing Roki Sasaki
So, at the end of the day, the Padres expect Roki Sasaki’s plane to land in San Diego. The Dodgers are obviously the “better” team, but Los Angeles also has a stacked rotation, which could stand in the way of immediate reps for Sasaki. Moreover, there’s a chance he loses out on endorsement deals if he’s stuck in the shadow of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Sasaki gets more of the spotlight and more of an immediate role in San Diego. Plus he gets to team up with the aforementioned Yu Darvish, a longtime mentor with the Japanese national team. Darvish is the perfect leadership figure to ease Sasaki’s transition into the MLB before, in due time, handing over the reins.
It helps that San Diego is a legitimate contender with a financially ambitious front office and a strong record of player development. Those are among Sasaki’s reported wish list items. He wants stability and a strong pipeline to support his growth. The Padres can offer it — as well as a chance to one day dethrone the titanic Dodgers in the NL West. Some folks would rather punch up than down, and Sasaki could relish the opportunity to blaze his own trail with a less glamorous franchise.
The Padres would presumably enter next season with a starting rotation of Cease, King, Darvish, Sasaki, and Matt Waldron. That is one heck of a five-man group. Sasaki’s history of elbow injuries could limit his pitch count as a rookie, but the Padres are deep enough to account for a slow MLB ramp-up. When he does get on the mound next season, expect positive results.
