The Padres, with Japanese star Yu Darvish on the roster, felt they had a legitimate shot at Sasaki, and they had more money to play with, almost $6.26 million, than L.A. But the Dodgers, who eliminated the Padres on their way to the World Series last season, prevailed again.

Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki chose to sign with the Dodgers, he announced. That leaves the Padres to face an uncertain path in the months leading up to the 2025 season and to face the reality of their closest and most irksome rival going forward with yet another star player.

While the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays were battling it out for Roki Sasaki, the defending World Series champs seem to have won.

The San Diego Padres could look to pursue former Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Jack Flaherty in free agency.

The International Signing Period opened up on Wednesday and as teams lined up their future top prospects, Roki Sasaki remained unsigned. The 23-year-old Japane

In a way, the financial aspect is even rosier than that (from the Dodgers' perspective), as typically with a prospect of this caliber, a team might feel pressure to sign him to an early extension. With Sasaki, there's no such pressure: Any talk of an extension now would be viewed as circumventing the transfer rules. It's almost too good to be true.

For some teams in Major League Baseball, the chase for Roki Sasaki could not be measured in mere months. It lasted for years. One of those teams, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, concluded that pursuit on Friday night by landing the star pitcher from Japan.

Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, the hottest international free agent in baseball, is headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced on social media Friday. The 23-year-old right-hander said he signed a minor-league deal. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The San Diego Padres could end up being dark horse candidates to acquire Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Japanese pitching star Roki Sasaki has decided to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions. Known for his 100 mph fastball, Sasaki leaves Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines to bring his talent to MLB.

The 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.