Roki Sasaki has usually found himself at the center of media attention due to his high ambitions. Ever since he first announced his intentions to join MLB before turning 25, the Japanese media hounded him. Partly because Sasaki had a long battle with his NPB team before it approved his posting. Perhaps that’s why the 23-year-old has developed a dislike for media in general and that might just have opened the door for San Diego Padres to get their dream signing.

Now it is probable that all 30 teams in the MLB are interested in Roki Sasaki. Why wouldn’t they? The guy has created quite a storm in Japan. The biggest advantage the teams have here is the price factor. Sasaki is considered an international amateur free agent. That means that he will have to sign a minor deal with a bonus. The teams have a salary cap on these international pools. So money will not be a factor here.

The Padres have a higher chance of getting Roki Sasaki

Addressing the whole media situation, Roki Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said, “The media in Japan has been very tough on him, and he’s not had a great time with it. It’s affected him mentally a little bit.” In Roki Sasaki’s case, too much media attention can be bad. It might hamper his game if mentally it’s bothering him. Understandably, the 23-year-old doesn’t want that kind of attention in the US either. This may help the Padres’ chances because, unlike the Dodgers, they don’t attract huge media attention.

On top of that, there’s Yu Darvish. Roki Sasaki and Darvish share a special connection. He is like a mentor to him. There is actually nothing stopping the Padres. They do have a lot of money in the pool to offer him in 2025. $6,261,600 million, to be exact. In 2023, the crew spent $5.6 million, and in 2024 $4.2 million.

But what would Sasaki gain? The newcomer would have the chance to play in the 2025 playoff club on the West Coast, a part that has one of the top ten Japanese populations in the nation. If that isn’t enough, the Japanese player would also join a strong rotation that has right-handers Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Darvish. We know Sasaki’s opinion on media attention, like the one that comes with signing for the Dodgers. However, this doesn’t mean the Dodgers are out of the competition. They will try to land a Roki Sasaki with all their power.

The Dodgers are still the favorites

The Dodgers still can land Roki Sasaki. The main question is how? The squad has the most amount left for the 2025 international signing pool. The interesting thing here is that the team can just wait. The club can hold off until the 2025 signing period kicks off on January 15, giving them a bit more time to strategize. Los Angeles could still do a trade for additional bonus pool money.

If they do sign Sasaki in 2024, he will join a Dominican shortstop who was signed earlier this year. Back on January 15, the crew got Dominican shortstop Emil Morales to a $1,897,500 deal out of their $5.9 million bonus pool. In his debut for the Dominican Summer League, Morales hit 14 home runs in just 46 games. That performance earned him MVP honors in the league, proving that the Dodgers made the right choice.

However, signing Morales was the last. The team didn’t get anyone else after that. It wasn’t like they didn’t have eyes on someone the Dodgers were planning to sign, another Dominican player. Center fielder Paulino Santana was expected to sign with Los Angeles for a bonus of just under $1 million. However, things didn’t go as the Dodgers wanted. Out of nowhere, the Texas Rangers secured Santana’s signature for a $1.4 million bonus. Maybe the baseball gods have something else planned, as the Dodgers now have more pool money for securing Roki Sasaki.