That leaves the Dodgers – with whom Sasaki met last month – and Padres – with Sasaki idol Yu Darvish in their rotation – as the likely favorites. Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said on a media teleconference last week that Sasaki, who returned to Japan after the holidays after meeting with multiple teams at Wolfe’s Los Angeles office – likely wouldn’t add more teams in the running. He also noted Sasaki might visit teams in the running, but not necessarily.
With that in mind, Sasaki visited the Toronto Blue Jays last week, although Major League Baseball’s lone Canadian team seems ripe for another disappointing letdown, in the wake of failed pursuits of two-way star Shohei Ohtani and slugger Juan Soto each of the past two seasons. Still believed to be in on Sasaki: The Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays, and possibly the Chicago Cubs. The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that the Texas Rangers, longshots at best in the process, were also out.
Yet the likeliest outcome remains Sasaki – who posted a 2.02 ERA in four professional seasons in Japan – landing with one of the two NL West heavyweights who battled in the NLDS last fall. Sasaki’s signing window runs from Wednesday through Jan. 23. “He is definitely driving the ship,” Wolfe said last week, “and calling the shots.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rōki Sasaki rumors: Yankees, Giants are out.
