"It sure feels like it’s the Padres" – MLB analyst gives real reason behind why Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki may choose San Diego over Dodgers

On Tuesday, MLB analyst and former executive Steve Phillips spoke about Roki Sasaki's impending arrival to the big leagues, and which team the Japanese phenom is most likely to join.

According to Phillips, the San Diego Padres is the most likely destination for the 23-year-old, despite their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, also reportedly being in contention for his signature. Per Phillips, a chance to work with his mentor Yu Darvish may be too good an offer to pass up for the young Roki Sasaki.

"It sure feels like it's the Padres, and then a longshot the Blue Jays," Philips said. "Because, you think about (the fact that) Yu Darvish is his godfather, in his words. He's been his mentor throughout."

Comparing the Dodgers and Padres, Phillips said:

"It just seems hard to believe that he'll choose the Dodgers over being with Darvish ... It feels like, if you have to separate the Dodgers and the Padres, there are reasons to point to the Padres, in Darvish, and you know, not having to battle the 'Ohtani brand' in LA."

Having made his professional debut in May of 2021, Roki Sasaki already has two NPB All-Star caps to his name. The youngster was also a part of the Japan outfit that won gold at the 2023 World Baseball Classic alongside big league stalwarts such as Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

With Joe Musgrove also set to miss the entirety of the 2025 season, the San Diego Padres could do nicely with Sasaki's outstanding talent to help make up for that absence.

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How Yu Darvish played a key role in helping Roki Sasaki make the move to MLB

For any NPB player to make the move to the MLB, he must first be 'posted' for acquisition by his NPB team. Usually, this only takes place when the player in question has reached 25 years of age, as this allows them to fetch the largest possible contract, a cut of which in turn goes back to their original NPB team.

However, in Roki Sasaki's case, his team, the Chiba Lotte Marines have given him the green light to move to the MLB despite being only 23. Reportedly, Padres ace Yu Darvish played a key role in helping facilitate the process.

The same source also went on to claim that Darvish had been "unhappy" with the Japanese talent coming over from the NPB choosing to go play with superstar Dodgers, and is perhaps expecting Sasaki's case to be different.