In an absolutely shocking twist that will only serve to absolutely shock even more when this winds up with Roki Sasaki going to the team everyone knew he was going to a year ago (sarcasm and such), the San Diego Padres are reportedly out of the running for the Japanese ace.
Hearing from multiple sources that the Padres are out in Roki Sasaki.
They will begin their international signings of Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez in the next few hours.— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 17, 2025
International news: LHP Carlos Alvarez will sign with the Padres, league sources said. Alvarez was originally committed to Padres but like some other prominent prospects he pursued other opportunities while teams tried to figure out international budgets for Roki Sasaki.— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) January 17, 2025
That leaves the Dodgers and Blue Jays as the two finalists on Roki Sasaki, and I wonder if we’re about to hear about the Blue Jays getting cut soon, too. Then it’d just be a matter of the Dodgers acquiring enough IFA pool funds to satisfy Sasaki’s signing request. We’ll get there when we get there (I don’t expect the Cubs to be involved at this point, having now signed most of their class – they have a small amount of pool space remaining, but they also appear not yet to have finalized a couple of their notable deals).
As for the Padres, this is no doubt a major blow to their hopes for an offseason that has seen them do almost nothing. They could make Sasaki work financially, obviously, and that would be a big boost to a club that can compete in 2025 as is, but has holes like any other club. The problem is that (reported) continued cuts to the baseball operations budget (seemingly) related to their TV troubles and the ownership infighting means that they cannot go out there and spend big in free agency. Indeed, it’s conceivable that, after missing out on Sasaki, the Padres go the other way and make some sell-oriented trades.
I tend to think it’s more likely we’ll see the Padres now in the market for some modest additions, because they were probably entirely on hold waiting on Sasaki.
After much anticipation and speculation, it seems like the San Diego Padres may be out of the running for Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki. Sources close to the situation have indicated that negotiations between the two parties have hit a standstill, with the Padres unable to meet Sasaki’s contract demands.
This news comes as a disappointment to many Padres fans, who were hopeful that the team would be able to secure the services of the highly touted right-handed pitcher. Sasaki, who has drawn comparisons to major league stars like Shohei Ohtani, was seen as a potential game-changer for the Padres’ pitching staff.
Despite the setback, the Padres are unlikely to give up on their pursuit of top talent. They have shown a willingness to invest in international prospects in the past, and it is possible that they may shift their focus to other promising prospects in the near future.
While the Padres may be out of the running for Roki Sasaki, there is still plenty of excitement surrounding the team as they continue to build for the future. Stay tuned for more updates on the Padres’ pursuit of top talent in the coming weeks.
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