Roki Sasaki revealed his decision on Friday to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sharing the news on Instagram. The San Diego Padres, who were initially considered contenders, were officially out of the running by Friday morning. Sasaki’s announcement later that afternoon confirmed the end of their pursuit of the 23-year-old pitcher.
Following the loss of Sasaki to their rivals, Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller expressed pride in the team’s effort to recruit the superstar from Japan. “Really proud of the group,” Preller said. “Really thorough and complete job,” according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Padres and Dodgers had been considered the top contenders for Sasaki even before he was posted to Major League teams on December 10. Although the Dodgers were favored, the Padres were expected to put up a strong challenge, which they did.
Along with the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, the Padres were one of three finalists for Sasaki, though they were only officially eliminated early on Friday. After that, the Padres turned their attention to other international signings.
Despite missing out on Sasaki, a player the Padres needed more than the Dodgers did, Preller remained optimistic. “At the end of the day, we want players that want to be here,” he said. “We’ll move forward and look to add to a really talented roster.”
The Padres have yet to make any significant MLB additions this offseason, having focused most of their efforts on signing Sasaki. They are now left to improve upon a team that exceeded expectations in 2024, finishing with a 93-69 record, just five games behind the NL West champion Dodgers.
“We’ve seen offseasons where we’ve been really aggressive and been able to line up on moves early in the offseason and other years, like last year, where it was later in the process,” Preller added. “We’ve got a really good core and good foundation we like a lot, and we’ve got some needs as well.”
