On the same day that Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt made it clear that he believes his team is a front-runner to land the 23-year-old right-hander.
“We should be very legitimate contenders,” Shildt told MLB Network Radio during an appearance as a part of the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas. “We fully expect to be right in the mix and actually, at the end of the day, have Sasaki a Padre.”
Shildt added that his confidence in Sasaki becoming a part of the Padres rotation in 2025 comes from general manager A.J. Preller’s push for San Diego to be “relevant” internationally. That includes, according to Shildt, Preller learning to speak Japanese as the Padres pursued Shohei Ohtani as a free agent last offseason.
San Diego also has ties to Japan on its roster with pitchers Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui hailing from the country, a plus when pursuing Sasaki, Shildt said.
“We’ve got a lot of inroads to get to Sasaki and make that happen,” Shildt said. “I know we’re going to put the full-court press to make it happen, and we’re very optimistic.”
Sasaki has the tools to be an intriguing addition to any MLB rotation, but the clock is now officially ticking for Sasaki to find his new home with an MLB team. With a 45-day window now in place, Sasaki must sign a deal by Jan. 23 or be returned to his NPB team.
MLB insider Jon Heyman believes the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are the “clear and heavy favorites” to land Sasaki, giving even more credence to Shildt’s belief that his team will win the sweepstakes for Sasaki’s services.
