Dodgers Target Roki Sasaki Had Second Meeting With Padres and Blue Jays in Their Cities: Report
Los Angeles Dodgers free agent target Roki Sasaki has had second meetings with at least two teams: The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.
According to The Athletic, Sasaki met with the Padres in San Diego and the Blue Jays in Toronto as he narrows down his list of teams. There have been no reports of a second meeting with the Dodgers, but Sasaki’s first round of meetings took place in Los Angeles, where his agency’s offices are located.
On Monday, three teams were officially eliminated from the sweepstakes.
Read more: Dodgers’ Major NL West Rival Out of Roki Sasaki in Massive Development
Read more: Another Major Contender Officially Out of Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes as Dodgers Target Nears Decision
The San Francisco Giants and both New York teams won’t be signing Sasaki, which leaves at least five known teams still in the running.
The Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers were known to have at least had first meetings with Sasaki. It’s possible a team like the Seattle Mariners — or a different mystery team — is still in the running, too.
Sasaki is expected to sign no sooner than Wednesday, when the 2025 international signing period opens. However, he must sign before Jan. 23, when his 45-day posting window expires.
The Dodgers haven’t tried to hide their desire to land Sasaki. At the Winter Meetings, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called him a “major priority” and said the team would do whatever they could to try to convince Sasaki to join Los Angeles.
“He is someone that, obviously, is a major priority for us,” Friedman said. “We are going to do whatever we can and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do the exact same thing. … We’re gonna put our best foot forward about what we feel like we can provide short-term, long-term, with our pitching group, veteran players, and do everything we can to put our best foot forward.”
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
