The San Diego Padres are certain that they will sign Roki Sasaki, a Japanese sensation, in free agency. Sasaki was promoted to the MLB by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball on Monday, and the Padres are one of several teams vying for his services. As a member of the class of 2025, the 23-year-old star may make an announcement after January 15th regarding where he will make his major league debut. Despite the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers are considered to be San Diego’s greatest rival in the sweepstakes, Padres manager Mike Shildt is certain that his team has already done so and will go to all lengths to acquire Sasaki.
During a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio, Shildt declared that the global superstar would ultimately wear the brown and yellow uniform (via ClutchPoints’ Dan Fappiano): “We ought to be extremely serious candidates. We firmly believe that we will be in the running and that Sasaki will ultimately be a Padre. The organisation and AJ [Preller] have done a fantastic job of ensuring our relevance on a global scale. It is evident from our roster. Our club is multicultural. “To make that happen, we have a lot of roads to Sasaki,” Shildt added. “To make that happen, I’m confident we’ll use the full court press. We are really hopeful.
The Padres will be able to offer Sasaki as much as they need from their $6.26 million in 2025 international pool funds if he waits until after January 15 to make his decision. The San Diego roster is among the most skilled in the Major Leagues. Even though the Dodgers are the current World Series champions, Shildt nearly guided his Padres to victory over Los Angeles in the 2024 NLDS, but the Padres lost 3-2 in a close five-game series. Sasaki might make the difference for them in the future. Additionally, San Diego can provide the exceptional flamethrower with the club scene and lifestyle he desires.
Plus, Sasaki’s close relationship with his compatriot and Padres star pitcher Yu Darvish figures to be one of the franchise’s biggest inroads to reel the former in, even over his fellow compatriots Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers.
As a pitcher who is capable of throwing a 100-plus mph fastball, with a perfect game under his belt and a career 2.02 ERA to show for, Sasaki could enter the Padres’ fold from day one and help them hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy next fall. Shildt doesn’t envision another scenario playing out that’s not in their favor.
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