Yu Darvish Discussed Padres' Failed Roki Sasaki Pursuit

The San Diego Padres have had quite an eventful offseason for a team that has barely made any major league roster additions.

In fact, the only major league signing to show this offseason came in the form of 34-year-old catcher Elias Díaz when the Padres acquired the veteran the last week of January.

Legal hearings regarding the ownership lawsuit 'hanging over' the franchise, arbitration hearings, watching countless free agent targets walk, failing to bring back core pieces, and even making it to the final days of the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes and falling short, have all contributed to an offseason fans hope to soon forget.

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Saturday's Fan Fest 2025 brought new insight on players and staff alike in their media availability.

The subject that many reporters wanted to discuss was unsurprisingly Sasaki, and hoped to learn more about how the saga unraveled through the player's eyes. Manny Machado, who hosted Sasaki and other Padres at his home in an attempt to court the right-hander, knew that this would be a hot topic at Fan Fest.

When the Padres star was asked about the 23-year-old phenom, he answered with his trademark confidence, standing before the media in his sunglasses and Padres jersey.

"I think he had his mind set already on where he was going" said Machado, "That's just my opinion."

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Machado was not the only member of the Friars who commented on the Sasaki sweepstakes.

In addition to playing with Sasaki on team Japan in 2023's WBC, Yu Darvish was also said to have had a 'godfather type influence' on the young pitcher and led many insiders to believe San Diego was a favored landing spot for that reason.

When Darvish was asked why Sasaki ultimately chose the Dodgers over the Padres, he answered professionally and without any apparent disdain.

"Those things ultimately comes down to what the player wants to do, so, you know you have to live with that," Darvish said. "As far as what we did, I think we put in a great plan, made our pitch, made our presentation and greeted him with all respect. Things I guess were a little short for us."

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