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

So now what? Roki Sasaki was the Padres' Plan A this winter. They hoped desperately to woo the ace Japanese right-hander as an anchor of their starting rotation for years to come. They made that much known from the moment he was posted last month.

According to multiple reports, the Padres are out on Sasaki and it's down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

The big prize landed on Friday. Pitcher Roki Sasaki announced that he was signing with the Dodgers, spurning the Blue Jays and Padres in the process. That loss is even more painful for the Padres as they not only built their offseason plans around Sasaki but will have to face him for the foreseeable future.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes have come to an end, with the Los Angeles Dodgers signing the Japanese phenom to a minor-league contract. He will receive a $6.5 mil

The San Diego Padres have announced their Player Development and Minor League coaching staffs for the 2025 season.

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.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move many baseball executives have long expected.

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.

Money was a nonfactor in Sasaki’s decision—and he still chose to join Los Angeles because of everything else that puts the Dodgers on top.

The Japanese phenom will join countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in blue, but this addition isn’t about the Dodgers bludgeoning the rest of the sport with their financial might.