Roki Sasaki's Interest in Joining Padres Wasn't Genuine, Says Padres Star

During the offseason ahead of the 2025 season, one of the big free agents around baseball was Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, who was making the jump to the big leagues.

Many scouts believed Sasaki could be one of the more talented players to come over in a long time, and almost every team coveted his services. Due to his amateur status, teams could only offer him international bonus pool money, opening the bidding for everyone.

The San Diego Padres were one of the more aggressive teams pursuing Sasaki, and the organization felt like it had a strong chance to land him, even having him visit the complex. Ultimately, Sasaki decided to sign with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, continuing their dominance in free agency.

Sasaki just faced off against the Padres for the first time in his career, bringing back the memories of the courtship. Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove opened up about Saaki's visit to San Diego, with the ace revealing that he believed the Japanese pitcher was always going to the Dodgers.

“Guys like [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto and [Shohei] Ohtani, who are in their prime and have a history with Sasaki, it seemed very likely that was going to be his landing spot,” Musgrove said to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We gave him our pitch, we did what we could. But I got the personal feeling that he already had his mind made up.”

Coming to a new country can be difficult, so it's understandable why Sasaki joined the Dodgers. As Musgrove said, his connection with the Japanese players on the Los Angeles roster likely played a big role in his decision.

In his start against the Padres, Sasaki couldn't record an out in the fifth inning, allowing three runs over four-plus grames. It was clear the right-hander didn't have his best stuff against San Diego, and the Padres were able to take advantage to help guide them to a big win.

The Padres badly wanted Sasaki to join the team, hoping that he could give them a competitive edge over Los Angeles. But in the end, Sasaki chose to join their rivals, and now every time he faces off against the Padres, those memories will come back.

“For us, it was trying to convey the competitive spirit that this clubhouse has and the battle that we face with the Dodgers every year and the teams at the top of the NL and just how much of an impact he can make with our group,” Musgrove said.

“I just tried to keep it as real as possible and just be very honest.”

Sasaki has seen an up-and-down start to his MLB career, with the right-hander struggling to consistently put together quality starts. In 108.4 innings, Sasaki has posted an ERA of 4.74.

The Padres may not have gotten their guy, but so far, it looks like they haven't missed out on much. While Sasaki does have a lot of talent, he seems to be far away from truly making a difference in the major leagues each time out.

And at the end of the day, the Padres aren't looking to sign players who want to be elsewhere.

“We want somebody who wants to be a Padre,” Musgrove said.

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