Yu Darvish gets honest about mentoring Roki Sasaki despite choosing Dodgers over Padres

Before Roki Sasaki signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres were among the frontrunners for his signature. The veteran pitcher is well-known as a mentor and confidant for his young compatriot through the years and was in touch with him over his free agency.

In an interview on MartyTimeTV, Darvish opened up his role as a mentor to Sasaki and added that he will continue to guide him through any difficulties as a player (6:50):

"We'll see how the season pans out for Roki Sasaki. He may have some adversity that needs to overcome, some hard times that he needs to overcome. If he does reach out to me in those moments, obviously I will give the support that I can give him. I think it's important not just to do that as a player but as a human being."

When asked about how much he spoke to Sasaki during free agency, Darvish said:

"Just here and there I would say. It's not like we were into deep conversation about any of that stuff but yeah, just texts here and there. Once he did make up his mind and made his decision he did reach out to me and let me know about it."

Yu Darvish is a seasoned pitcher who spent seven years in the NPB before moving to the MLB in 2012. Since then, he has played for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres, establishing himself as an elite pitcher.

Over the years, he has been a mentor to several young Japanese pitchers, and Roki Sasaki is one of them. Having played together for Team Japan in their 2023 World Baseball Classic success, Darvish has been one of the major proponents for Sasaki to move to the MLB.

Having done so now, the youngster's decision to join the Dodgers was certainly a disappointment for his long-time mentor.

---

MLB insider gives his take on top prospect Roki Sasaki ahead of 2025 season

Heading into the 2o25 MLB season, newly acquired Los Angeles Dodgers star Roki Sasaki has been named the top prospect in the major leagues.

Discussing his position in the list, insider Jonathan Mayo gave his take on the Japanese star's ability (via MLB Network):

"If you watch video of that splitter, I don't know how anyone ever hits or lays off of that pitch. It is an 80 [-grade] on the scouting scale, we don't give those out lightly."

As a new arrival to the MLB aged under 25, Sasaki qualifies as a prospect despite his stellar record in the NPB. Heading into his debut season with the Dodgers, he's the top prospect in all of baseball and has a promising future ahead.