Sasaki’s résumé in just a short amount of time in Japan is nothing short of legendary. During his tenure with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), he posted a jaw-dropping 2.02 ERA and racked up 524 strikeouts in just over 414 innings.

Sasaki, a 23-year-old right-handed ace, signed a minor-league deal to join the defending World Series champions.

The Padres will sign left-hander and international amateur free agent Carlos Alvarez, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon. That's an intriguing development given that the Padres are considered one of the three finalists (alongside the Dodgers and Blue Jays) in the running for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

Roki Sasaki may be available for all teams to sign considering that his age only makes him subject to the international bonus pool money similar to when Shohei Ohtani made the transition stateside back in 2018,

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.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers appear set to land Roki Sasaki in free agency, can the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies or any other team in the league keep them from a World Series repeat in 2025?