"Padres need Roki Sasaki badly" - MLB insider points Dylan Cease, Michael King's looming free agencies making San Diego desperate for Japanese phenom

The San Diego Padres have their eyes on Roki Sasaki, who is set to enter MLB after being posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball in November. The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher is considered the best pitcher in the world who has yet to test himself in the majors.

According to Bob Nightengale, the Padres and the LA Dodgers could be the frontrunners for the international free agent. Between the two, Nightengale believes the Padres need him badly, given that their starting pitchers, Dylan Cease and Michael King, will become free agents after the 2025 season.

"San Diego needs him badly," Nightengale told Doug McKain on the "Dodgers Dougout" podcast. "After this season, they’re losing some key players to free agency. They’ll lose Dylan Cease and Michael King, the pitcher they just got from the Yankees."

"Both are free agents after this year. San Diego really needs help, but they don’t have the same kind of money. They’ve got some backloaded contracts, which means they’re going to face a financial crunch after this season."

Roki Sasaki isn’t a free agent like Yoshinobu Yamamoto was last year. Teams can’t simply throw millions around on large contracts to land him. They’ll have to use their international pool money to secure the Japanese ace, which makes his free agency even more intriguing.

Bob Nightengale thinks money won't factor in Roki Sasaki's free agency

According to Nightengale, money will likely be one of the least important factors for Roki Sasaki in his decision.

"What's a couple of million dollars? Nightengale said. "He's already sacrificing over $200 million by coming out early, just like Ohtani did. That's why Yamamoto waited until he was 25 — he got $325 million out of it. Ohtani ... got, what, two million? Same thing here. I don't think money is a factor at all."

The ace will likely focus on where he wants to pitch as he makes his decision, whether it’s with his former mentor Yu Darvish at the Padres or with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto at the Dodgers. He could also choose another team and become their No. 1 ace to capture more of the spotlight.