Roki Sasaki rumors: Yu Darvish relationship, wish list items, draft pick incentive

With Juan Soto set to rewrite the free-agent record books, plus big names like Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman and Max Fried on the market, this Hot Stove season hardly needed any more juice. And yet that's exactly what we got last week, when Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they had decided to make 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki available to sign with an MLB team.

At just 23 years old with a triple-digit fastball, Sasaki had already been on big-league radars for years. And now that he's finally coming Stateside, just about every team wants to be the one to land him — especially considering that he'll be on an absolute steal of an amateur contract. But where will Sasaki choose to sign? That remains to be seen, but the rumor mill is already working overtime.

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Roki Sasaki rumors: Yu Darvish could help the Padres' case

As soon as news about Sasaki's availability broke, everyone immediately assume that the Los Angeles Dodgers were the prohibitive favorites in his free agency. With Japanese stars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto already in tow and coming off a World Series title, the pitch seemingly makes itself.

But more recent reporting suggests that this won't be the slam-dunk case we might've thought. And one of the teams that could edge out L.A. is a division rival — who just happens to employ one of Sasaki's close friends and mentors. According to Jeff Passan, Sasaki is close with San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, whose team just so happens to have a hole to fill in its rotation this winter.

It remains to be seen whether Darvish can close the deal for San Diego; the Padres aren't the only team with players who have connections to Sasaki. But Darvish looms large to a whole generation of Japanese pitchers, and his success and comfort in San Diego would seem to be a powerful selling point.

Roki Sasaki rumors: Stability, comfort, player development on his wish list

As Sasaki has yet to interact with American media, we still don't really know much about him — or what he might value most as he brings his career to MLB. But we know that money will be largely equal thanks to the way MLB's international amateur free agent rules work, and according to The Athletic, market size doesn't seem to be much of a factor either.

That opens up a host of possibilities. Could he opt for the Padres and Darvish? The Dodgers, who boast Ohtani, Yamamoto and a sizable Japanese community? Or maybe a team like the Tampa Bay Rays or Cleveland Guardians who boast an impressive track record in pitching development?

Roki Sasaki rumors: Righty could earn his team a draft pick as well

As if Sasaki weren't enticing enough on his own, he'll come with more benefits than just his wipeout stuff and seemingly limitless potential. Because he'll be considered an international amateur rather than a foreign professional (because he's younger than 25 and has spent fewer than six seasons as a pro in Japan), Sasaki will be subject to the same series of performance incentives that every other rookie coming from the Minor Leagues has. Among those: If Sasaki wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three in MVP or Cy Young voting in any season before he reaches arbitration eligibility, his team receives an extra first-round draft pick the following season.

Considering that Sasaki is already more than Major League-ready, it's an upside with very little downside for whichever team winds up signing him. Not that teams need any extra encouragement.