Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The San Diego Padres have reportedly been eliminated from the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays as the final two teams remaining in the chase.
Baseball reporter Francys Romero of Beisbol FR first reported the news early Friday morning with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
"Hearing from multiple sources that the Padres are out in Roki Sasaki," Romero wrote. "They will begin their international signings of Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez in the next few days."
The Padres have yet to make any official statement but Will Sammon of The Athletic also reported that San Diego would be signing left-handed pitcher Alvarez.
"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," Sammon posted on X.
Jon Morosi on MLB Network Friday morning cited Romero's report and said the "tell-tale sign of this" is that the Padres are preparing to sign some of their internation prospects.
"Other moves they are making would preclude them from signing Sasaki under the same international signing bonus cap," Morosi said. "Assuming this is the way it actually unfolds that it would leave the Dodgers and the Blue Jays as the two remaining suitors for Roki Sasaki."
The development comes as a shock as many baseball insiders believed the Padres were the favorite to land the young phenom and leaned on his connection with Yu Darvish to complete the deal. Considering his relationship with Darvish plus the smaller market size, it seemed like the two sides were destined to agree.
The Dodgers were reportedly considering trades to increase their MLB-low international bonus pool of $5.146 million. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays and Padres have slightly higher pools, each at $6.262 million. However, San Diego was also said to be exploring trade options to further enhance their bonus pool capacity.
It would be a crushing blow to San Diego if Sasaki chooses the Dodgers over the Blue Jays. The Padres are already one step behind and adding Sasaki to a rotation that includes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and several others as rotation options would help the Dodgers increase their odds of winning another World Series.
On the other hand, the Blue Jays could surprise the league and the Padres would be extremely grateful. If he goes there, he'd likely join Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Bowden Francis in the rotation, with Yariel Rodriguez moving to the bullpen.