“We want players that want to be here,” Padres GM A.J. Preller breaks silence after losing Roki Sasaki to rivals LA Dodgers

Roki Sasaki chose the Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Diego Padres and joined the 2024 World Series champions on a $6.5 million deal.

“We want players that want to be here,” Padres GM A.J. Preller breaks silence after losing Roki Sasaki to rivals LA Dodgers

A.J. Preller and Roki Sasaki (Image via Yahoo Sports/Yardbarker)

On Friday, the race for Japanese ace pitcher Roki Sasaki came to an end. The 23-year-old took to his Instagram account to announce that he would be joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. After losing out on another free agent to their rivals, San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller broke his silence regarding this matter.

Earlier this week, the race for Sasaki came down between the Dodgers, the Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays. For weeks, the Padres and the Dodgers were considered heavy favorites to land him due to their Japanese connection.

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The Padres received a major blow when news broke out that they were eliminated from the race before the Blue Jays. In the end, Sasaki ended up joining the Dodgers on a $6.5 million deal.

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In an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Preller praised the efforts of the recruiting group. He later mentioned that they want players who want to be there and hinted that they have seemingly moved on from Sasaki.

At the end of the day, we want players that want to be here. We’ll move forward and look to add to a really talented roster.

A.J. Preller said

As per The Athletic, the Padres were willing to spend more than $10 million on Sasaki. However, the player chose the Dodgers instead of them and reunited with his international teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Last season, the Padres and the Dodgers went head-to-head in the NLDS. After leading the series 2-1, the Padres suffered back-to-back defeats in Game 4 and 5 and were eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of their rivals.

In the current offseason, the team has not made any major free agents signing as of yet. There are still some big holes which are remaining to be filled. With Sasaki now out of their reach, it will be interesting to see whom the Padres go after next.

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Munetaka Murakami and Roki Sasaki

How the Los Angeles Dodgers could lineup with Roki Sasaki for the 2025 season

The 2024 season saw the Los Angeles Dodgers take home the World Series crown by defeating one of their top rivals, the New York Yankees. Since then, they have started working for the 2025 season and have strengthened their squad even further. With the addition of Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers have a solid rotation.

Roki Sasaki
Roki Sasaki (Image via Pinstripes Alley)

Sasaki will join a starting rotation that consists of Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell. The team acquired Snell on a massive 5-year $182 million deal after he became a free agent once again.

As for Ohtani, the two-way star is expected to pitch in 2025. After a Tommy John surgery, he did not pitch in the entirety of the 2024 season. A few days ago, he was seen practicing pitching in a park.

Apart from them, pitchers like Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are also expected to be in the mix for starting pitchers. Both of these players missed the entirety of the 2024 campaign due to injuries and would be keen to make a mark in the 2025 campaign.

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Roki Sasaki

For a second year running, the Dodgers will begin a new season in Asia. After taking on the San Diego Padres in the Seoul Series in March last year, this year they will take on the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series. These two MLB sides will go head-to-head on March 18 and 19 at the Tokyo Dome.