Joe Musgrove Spent 2 Days With Roki Sasaki As Part of Padres Recruitment Process

The San Diego Padres were among the final three finalists for Roki Sasaki along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Sasaki ultimately chose the Dodgers but it wasn't without a valiant effort from Joe Musgrove.

Musgrove spent multiple days with Sasaki as part of the recruiting process which included dinner and spending time together at the field.

Joe Musgrove said that he spent two days with Roki Sasaki, had dinner with him and spent time with him on the field. Joe said they did their best in making a pitch to him but obviously it wasn't good enough. Joe didn't want to speculate on if Roki's mind was already made up.
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 1, 2025

Third baseman Manny Machado also spent some time with Sasaki but felt like his mind was made up well before meeting with the Padres.

“I think he had his mind set already where he was going,” said Machado, who was one of a handful of players to play host to Sasaki during his time in San Diego. “That’s just my opinion.”

Machado based his opinion on a "gut feeling."

However, Musgrove didn't feel the same way as Machado.

“The guy (was) on a world tour (for) a couple of weeks,” Musgrove said of Sasaki. “So (he was) probably a little bit worn out and exhausted. Towards the end of that trip, maybe you don’t get the freshest, most excited Roki.

"I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m not in his head. So I’m not gonna say he acted a certain way, but I could see where Manny sees that. I had a little feeling like he was either a bit worn out or kind of knew where he was going to go already and was just kind of doing the optics of going around and doing his visits.”

Musgrove will likely miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

More news: Dodgers Appear to Be Taking Shots at Padres With Giveaway Calendar

The 31-year-old delivered one of the strongest stretches of his career after his mid-August return, recording a 2.15 ERA with 57 strikeouts and just eight walks across 50.1 innings in his final nine regular-season starts.

San Diego has yet to make a move this offseason that would replace Musgrove in the starting rotation and will likely look to depth pieces to step up into a significant starting role.

However, the Padres do have Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish for now.

Cease and King have both been linked to other teams as the Padres are still trying to slash payroll.

Joe Musgrove Spent 2 Days With Roki Sasaki As Part of Padres Recruitment Process

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