On the identical day that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was formally posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball, San Diego Padres supervisor Mike Shildt made it clear that he believes his workforce is a front-runner to land the 23-year-old right-hander.
“We needs to be very respectable contenders,” Shildt told MLB Network Radio throughout an look as part of the MLB Winter Conferences in Dallas. “We absolutely anticipate to be proper within the combine and truly, on the finish of the day, have Sasaki a Padre.”
Shildt added that his confidence in Sasaki turning into part of the Padres rotation in 2025 comes from common supervisor A.J. Preller’s push for San Diego to be “related” internationally. That features, in accordance with Shildt, Preller studying to talk Japanese because the Padres pursued Shohei Ohtani as a free agent final offseason.
San Diego additionally has ties to Japan on its roster with pitchers Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui hailing from the nation, a plus when pursuing Sasaki, Shildt mentioned.
“We have got lots of inroads to get to Sasaki and make that occur,” Shildt mentioned. “I do know we’ll put the full-court press to make it occur, and we’re very optimistic.”
Sasaki has the tools to be an intriguing addition to any MLB rotation, however the clock is now formally ticking for Sasaki to seek out his new residence with an MLB workforce. With a 45-day window now in place, Sasaki should signal a deal by Jan. 23 or be returned to his NPB workforce.
MLB insider Jon Heyman believes the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are the “clear and heavy favorites” to land Sasaki, giving much more credence to Shildt’s perception that his workforce will win the sweepstakes for Sasaki’s companies.
