Padres manager Mike Shildt provides hope for Roki Sasaki signing

Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki has been officially posted at the start of the Winter Meetings, giving teams a 45-day window to negotiate a potential deal. Padres manager Mike Shildt seems very optimistic about his team's chances of landing the right-hander when the process is over.

Appearing on MLB Network radio last Monday, Shildt laid out his pitch for Sasaki to sign with the Padres.

“I feel like the organization is in a really good place with Sasaki. If there’s an open market competition to be had, I feel like we’re in a good spot for a multitude of reasons. One, we’re in San Diego. We sell out our ballpark every night. We have a very competitive ballclub. It’s a chance for him to come in and create a legacy for himself to help win the first World Series."

Shildt adds that President of Baseball Operations and general manager AJ Preller has established roots in Japan. Staff ace Yu Darvish, who has successfully made the jump from the NPB to MLB over a decade ago, is expected to help recruit Sasaki to San Diego.

Having just turned 23 last month, Sasaki is subject to Major League Baseball's amateur bonus rules. The Padres have a total bonus pool of $6.261 million for 2025, according to Baseball America's Ben Badler. The end of the 45-day window will be January 23, a week after the start of the 2025 international signing period.

The team that signs him will also have to pay 20% of the bonus as part of the posting fee. However, that's a huge bargain compared to the talent that Sasaki brings. He used to feature consistent triple-digit heat in the past, although his average fastball velocity dropped to 96.9 MPH in 2024 (and is accompanied by a devastating splitter).

The Padres face heavy competition from inside their own division to land Sasaki, as the Dodgers are also likely to be heavily involved. The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto also likely trying to recruit the young right-hander to Los Angeles.

Nonetheless, San Diego could be at an advantage because of a smaller spotlight, which was something Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe said could be crucial in the recruiting process.