Former MLB pitcher starts wild Dodgers-Roki Sasaki rumor that will enrage Padres fans

The San Diego Padres offseason plans took quite a turn with the news that top Japanese pitching prospect, Roki Sasaki, was going to be posted by his team and make a move to MLB. Sasaki's tantalizing blend of youth, cost, and pure stuff put the brakes on the hype over any other potential offseason move as fans almost universally shifted their eyes to Sasaki's arrival stateside.

The Padres have been connected to Sasaki for a while due to his long-time friendship with Yu Darvish and the fact that San Diego has been a contending West Coast team. However, the consensus, even going back to when the timing of Sasaki's MLB arrival was unclear, was that the Los Angeles Dodgers were the prohibitive favorites to snag him.

While some cold water has been thrown on the Dodgers' momentum with Sasaki of late, one of Sasaki's former teammates and 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel suggested recently that he heard a deal between Sasaki and the Dodgers was already done.

Dallas Keuchel's suggestion that Roki Sasaki to the Dodgers is a done deal conveniently ignores Padres advantages

Most of Keuchel's comments were related to what Sasaki was like to watch, how talented he is, and how he thinks he will be a force on the mound in the big leagues. However, Keuchel's quotes about a potential landing spot for Sasaki got the most press by a wide margin.

According to Keuchel, he had already heard that Sasaki had a deal in place with the Dodgers. What is unclear is where he heard that, only saying there'd been "rumblings" about it. Keuchel did go out of his way to say that Sasaki himself didn't tell him that, but still said that he would bet on Sasaki going to LA if it was his money.

One certainly hopes this isn't the case. The Padres have been mentioned in connection to Sasaki over the last week. It is entirely possible that Keuchel was just referencing the same rumors that we've all heard for months now and was not necessarily sharing new information.

Given how the international bonus pool works, it's unlikely that Sasaki will sign before January 15. As we get closer to that date, Padres fans will learn a lot about San Diego's chances to sign Sasaki, especially if international prospects formerly connected to San Diego sign elsewhere in January.

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