San Diego Padres

The race to sign Rōki Sasaki appears to be down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Per MLB insider Francys Romero, the San Diego Padres are no longer in the Sasaki sweepstakes and will begin signing other international free agents, including Jhoan De La Cruz and Carlos Alvarez, on Friday.

The Athletic's Will Sammon also reported Alvarez is going to sign with the Padres after he started to pursue other opportunities while San Diego waited for Sasaki to make a decision.

Sasaki has until Jan. 23 to make a decision. Otherwise, his posting window will expire, and he will be returned to the Chiba Lotte Marines for the 2024 season. No one expects the window to close without him signing with an MLB club.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Monday that the Padres, Dodgers and Blue Jays were the three finalists for Sasaki after several clubs, including the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, were told they were no longer in the running.

Wednesday marked another pivotal time for seeing which teams thought they still had a chance at Sasaki because it marked the first day of MLB's 2025 international signing period.

Since Sasaki is subject to international singing rules, the most he could sign for is determined by the bonus pool for each individual team.

The difference in money between the three finalists is not significant. San Diego and Toronto both entered the international signing period with $6.3 million to spend, while the Dodgers are at $5.1 million.

Per the international signing tracker from Ben Badler of Baseball America, the Dodgers and Blue Jays were the only teams as of Friday that had yet to agree to any deals.

The Dodgers have long been considered favorites to sign Sasaki. The Padres' chance to play spoiler was built largely on Yu Darvish being a revered figure among Japanese pitchers and having previously served as a mentor to Sasaki when they were teammates in the 2023 World Baseball Classic that Japan won.

Toronto's lingering presence is certainly interesting, especially for a franchise that has made strong runs at Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in free agency.

Ultimately, though, it would feel like a huge upset at this point if Sasaki doesn't join a loaded Dodgers roster that already brought in Blake Snell as a free agent to upgrade the pitching staff in 2025.

Japanese right-handed pitcher Rōki Sasaki has ruled out a handful of teams and is seemingly getting closer to making his decision.

According to ESPN's Jeff Pasan, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are the finalists to land Sasaki.

The Dodgers are looking to defend their 2024 World Series win and Sasaki would only add to an already-talented rotation. The Padres are coming off an impressive 93-69 season that saw them reach the NLDS, but bringing in Sasaki could help them get to the next level.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, struggled in 2024 and could use a star pitcher like Sasaki to energize their club.

Sasaki reportedly visited the Padres over the weekend, per Dennis Lin, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Before his visit to San Diego, Sasaki visited the Blue Jays.

Sasaki will be eligible to sign with a major league team on Wednesday when the international signing period opens.

The report of Sasaki's favorites comes after a handful of teams learned that he did not plan to sign with them. Jack Curry of YES reported that the New York Yankees were informed Sasaki would not sign with them while San Francisco Giants general manager Zack Minasian told reporters that Sasaki was not going to sign with the Giants.

Also on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Mets are out of the running for Sasaki. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that Sasaki informed the Texas Rangers he would be signing elsewhere.

Sasaki decided which clubs to rule out after holding meetings with the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Rangers, Blue Jays, Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, according to Sammon, Lin and Andy McCullough of The Athletic.

Sasaki, 23, appears to be on his way to stardom in the majors. Last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League, Sasaki had 129 strikeouts, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.036 WHIP, posting a 10-5 record across 111 innings.

He'll now have the difficult task of deciding where to sign, though he has plenty of options. While his decision doesn't have to be immediate, he will need to sign by the final date of a 45-day posting window on Jan. 23.

The San Diego Padres and starting pitcher Dylan Cease avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $13.75 million contract for 2025, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

This marked Cease's final arbitration-eligible year, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2025 season.

Despite the settlement, there is no guarantee that Cease will be wearing a Padres uniform when the 2025 campaign begins.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported last month that Cease was among the starting pitchers "potentially available" in a trade, and it was also reported by MLB Network's Jon Morosi that the Boston Red Sox were among the teams interested in acquiring Cease.

After spending his first five MLB seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Cease was traded to San Diego last offseason for a package of prospects.

Cease, 29, enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career after the trade, going 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 224 strikeouts over 189.1 innings, while also throwing his first career no-hitter.

Although Cease was denied his first career All-Star selection, he finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting. He finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting just two years earlier when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA and 227 strikeouts.

As good as Cease was during the 2024 regular season, he struggled mightily during the playoffs, going 0-1 with a 14.40 ERA in two starts.

Even so, Cease is positioned to be a key part of San Diego's rotation in 2025 along with Michael King and Yu Darvish if he isn't traded.

Although the Padres have reached the playoffs in three of the past five seasons and made it all the way to the National League Championship Series in 2022, it is difficult to say what their intentions are for next season.

The Padres traded superstar outfielder Juan Soto and allowed ace starting pitcher Blake Snell to leave in free agency last offseason, and so far this offseason they lost catcher Kyle Higashioka in free agency, while reliever Tanner Scott and outfielder Jurickson Profar remain free agents.

San Diego has done little to add to the roster aside from executing some minor league contracts, so it remains to be seen what the plan is.

Of course, the Padres have a strong top three in their rotation and a lineup headlined by Fernando Tatís Jr., Jackson, Merrill, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arráez, so they have a chance to contend even if they stand pat.

However, if they don't believe they have a chance to re-sign Cease before he hits free agency next offseason, it may be wise to get something in return for him now while he is healthy and holds significant value.

The Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes appear to be centralized in Southern California.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "While the Los Angeles Dodgers have been the heavy favorites to sign Sasaki for the past year, with some teams convinced he already made up his mind, the San Diego Padres have emerged as the new choice among executives."

The Padres have had a very quiet offseason, which hasn't been the norm in the AJ Preller era, so it wouldn't be a surprise if a splash was coming.

Sasaki would fit that bill. The 23-year-old went 10-5 in in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball in 2024, posting a 2.35 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings (18 games). He also made two appearances in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, going 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

At this point, he's the most intriguing starting pitcher on the market. The Padres signing him would not only bolster their rotation, but would also keep him away from their primary rivals.

The San Diego Padres are in "strong position" to land Chiba Lotte Marines starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, per reporter Francys Romero.

Sources: Several industry sources believe the San Diego Padres are in a strong position to land Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 4, 2024

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred previously told reporters that the 23-year-old Japanese star pitcher was expected to be part of the 2025 international signing class.

With that, Sasaki wouldn't sign with an MLB team before January 15, which is when MLB's international signing period starts.

Sasaki went 30-15 with a 2.02 ERA (0.88 WHIP) and 524 strikeouts over 414.2 innings (69 games) in Japan's top professional league. He also authored one of the top pitching performances in professional baseball history, striking out 19 batters in a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes in April 2022.

He's ranked highly on any MLB free agent list one can find, including those from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (third), Rowan Kavner of Fox Sports (third) and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports (second).

As for his destination, Jon Heyman of the New York Post previously reported that "insiders are assuming" that the Los Angeles Dodgers were the "heavy favorite."

The Dodgers have deep pockets, but that's not going to be a factor here. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com explained why while also noting that the Padres were rumored to be favorites to land him.

"Sasaki is a 23-year-old fireballer with a wipeout splitter and an excellent slider. He has ace potential, and whichever team signs him will do so at a minimal cost, all things considered. International bonus pools are capped, and Sasaki would be earning a rookie salary. The Padres are rumored to be among the favorites for the Japanese right-hander."

David Schoenfield of ESPN.com previously predicted Sasaki to land in San Diego.

"The Padres would be a great fit -- and perhaps none of the likeliest suitors need Sasaki quite as much as the Padres. Their payroll is already close to maxed out, and that's without re-signing Jurickson Profar or Ha-Seong Kim -- two players they could use. Plus, Joe Musgrove will sit out 2025 after elbow surgery, so there is a need for a starter to challenge the Dodgers' supremacy in the NL West."

Obviously, San Diego would like to have Sasaki for a few reasons. For starters, he's a potential ace who can anchor the rotation for years. But the Padres' gain could also be the Dodgers' loss. San Diego certainly wouldn't like Sasaki heading to a division rival, let alone one positioned to compete for the World Series for years to come.

So signing Sasaki would be a huge win for San Diego. The Padres undoubtedly have competition for his services, but the latest report is a good sign that he'll land in town.

After making the playoffs in his first season with the San Diego Padres, manager Mike Shildt has had his contract with the club extended.

The Padres announced on Wednesday that Shildt has signed a new deal that ties him to the organization through the 2027 season.

"As Mike demonstrated this year, he has an unwavering commitment to winning and a unique set of skills that got our group to perform at a high level," general manager A.J. Preller said in the announcement. "He possesses a true love for this team and the game of baseball, and I am thrilled to continue to work together with Mike to bring a championship to the City of San Diego."

Shildt has been with the Padres since January 2022 when he was hired as a player development coach on Bob Melvin's staff.

Melvin led the Padres to the NLCS in his first season as manager, but they finished with a disappointing 82-80 record in 2023 after they went all-in with an offseason spending spree.

The expectation was that Melvin would be back with the Padres in 2024. He was still under contract with the club and Preller told reporters during his end-of-season press conference in October 2023 that they were keeping Melvin as manager.

In the wake of Preller's comments, Melvin left San Diego when he was hired as manager by the San Francisco Giants. The move didn't come as a surprise because the Padres had to give the Giants permission to interview the 63-year-old.

Shildt wound up getting promoted by the Padres to become their manager on Nov. 21, 2023. He had four years of managerial experience with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to '21, making the playoffs in each of his final three seasons with the club.

The Padres made the playoffs under Shildt with a 93-69 record, their most wins in a single season since 1998 (98-64). They swept the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild-card round and held a 2-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS before losing the final two games.

Despite the disappointing end to this season, the future is extremely bright in San Diego. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Luis Arráez and Manny Machado are a great foundation for the lineup. Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish give them a strong trio at the top of their starting rotation.

There is work to do for Preller to do with the roster, especially with Jurickson Profar and Tanner Scott hitting free agency, but the Padres have a lot of upside going into 2025 as they look to compete with the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West.

Mike Shildt led the San Diego Padres to a 93-69 record and a playoff appearance in his first season as manager, and the team is reportedly keeping him for longer as a result.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported Tuesday that San Diego is finalizing a two-year contract extension with Shildt and could announce the deal Wednesday.

The manager was signed through just the 2025 campaign on his previous deal, so this means he will be in place through the 2027 season.

The 2024 campaign stood in stark contrast to the 2023 one for the Padres.

San Diego had plenty of star power but went just 82-80 and missed the playoffs in 2023. Both Acee and Lin highlighted a reportedly fractured relationship between manager Bob Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller, and the former left to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants for the 2024 season.

The Padres then hired Shildt, who proceeded to lead them to the second-most wins in franchise history. Only the 1998 Padres won more when they went 98-64 and reached the World Series.

San Diego's success reportedly won't only impact Shildt, as Acee noted "the team has been working on contracts for most of its baseball operations employees and some members of the coaching staff. Those deals, including one for pitching coach Ruben Niebla, are expected to be completed in the coming days."

Success is nothing new for Shildt.

He went 252-199 as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from when he took over for the fired Mike Matheny during the 2018 season through the 2021 one. The Cardinals made the playoffs three times during that span, including when they advanced to the National League Championship Series during the 2019 campaign.

San Diego found some postseason success in Shildt's first year. It defeated the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Round and then took a 2-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series.

However, Los Angeles won the next two games and went on to win the World Series.

Shildt and the Padres will look to close that gap on their National League West rivals next season.

The San Diego Padres withdrew a verbal agreement with a prospect from the Dominican Republic after discovering he had claimed to be five years older than his true age, Jorge Castillo and Alden Gonzalez reported for ESPN.

The prospect, who assumed the name Cesar Altagracia, was believed to be 14 years old. He agreed to sign with the Padres for $4 million once he was eligible for international free agency in 2027, according to Castillo and Gonzalez.

The MLB then learned that Altagracia is a 19-year-old, who has previously represented the Dominican Republic in youth tournaments under a "false identity," Castillo and Gonzalez reported.

According to Castillo and Gonzalez, the MLB has seen an "uptick in high-profile players showcasing themselves with falsified birth certificates to present themselves as much as five years younger" over the past year.

That reported increase could include a New York Mets' outfielder prospect from the Dominican Republic, who was reportedly suspended in April for falsifying his identity and age, according to Mike Mayer of Metsmerized.

The prospect, who went by Anthony Baptist, was signed for $1.1 million at a reported age of 17 in 2023.

It is typical for players to be suspended for one year if they are found to be lying about their age, Castillo and Gonzalez reported.

The Athletic's Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal reported in January that MLB executives and agents believe that "age and identity fraud among amateur baseball players in the Dominican Republic... is on the rise again" ahead of the 2024 season.

An MLB official told Drellich and Rosenthal that the league had "not seen any material statistical change in those numbers over the last several years," but The Athletic reporters noted that these numbers would not encapsulate verbal agreements made with prospects allegedly too young to sign with a team.

According to Drellich and Rosenthal, the Mets as well as the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics were among teams who had "recently" discovered an international prospect they were in talks with had falsified their age.

Per Drellich and Rosenthal, "several" of these players were in line for bonuses of over $1 million, an amount they might not have been able to net as older prospects.

As Drellich and Rosenthal wrote in January:

The league does background checks on international amateurs across all countries through its Age and Identity Investigation department, which was put in place over a decade ago. But the league does not vet players who are more than a year away from being eligible to be signed. Some teams therefore hire their own private investigators to check paperwork and backgrounds of younger players.

MLB has previously considered implementing an international draft, but was unable to reach an agreement with the MLBPA ahead of the signing of the new CBA in 2022.

The San Diego Padres reportedly boycotted in-game interviews with Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal during Tuesday's NLDS Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, after Rosenthal wrote an article critical of Manny Machado and the Padres following Game 2.

Acee noted that the Padres only planned on boycotting interviews for one game.

In the column, Rosenthal described Machado lightly throwing a ball into the Dodgers' dugout during a heated game as a "punkish response" and dubbed it as the "Sinister Sling." He wrote that Machado is "entirely willing to engage in conduct some might consider unbecoming, and he's unapologetic about it."

He also described Fernando Tatís Jr. as a "smiling, dancing peacock" and Jurickson Profar as "the kid who pulls the fire alarm at school and then asks, 'Who, me?'"

Alongside the boycott, Tatís responded by putting emojis of a man dancing and a peacock on his Instagram Stories following Tuesday's 6-5 win in Game 3.

The Dodgers were not thrilled with Machado's toss into the dugout, with manager Dave Roberts feeling it was directed at him. Video of the incident didn't show a particularly hard throw, and nobody was struck by the baseball.

Here is an alternate camera angle of San Diego 3B Manny Machado throwing a ball toward the Los Angeles Dodgers' dugout during Game 2 of the NLDS, obtained by ESPN. The incident remains a point of contention with Game 3 tonight, as @Alden_Gonzalez reported: https://t.co/grEVYusdPY pic.twitter.com/Qo0CGqqeVz

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 8, 2024

The game featured Profar and Tatís jawing back and forth with Dodgers fans in the outfield, Tatís getting hit by a pitch and Dodgers fans throwing throwing debris and baseballs at Padres in the outfield and bullpen, among other points of contention.

The Machado toss in particular became a major talking point, however, and Profar told reporters the entirety of Game 2's drama "motivated us."

"Like all those things—all (that) lying I don't know, man. It's a great team over there. I don't think they need all (that) lying," he continued. "We just need to play baseball. ... Like Fernando's dancing. You guys are insulting us. You (are) throwing stuff. You do everything. What do you want him to do? He's reacting like that, he's dancing like that because of you guys. And they make it seem like no, he's dancing and taunting the fans. Do you think he just goes to the field to be dancing? Really?"

Game 3, while another fantastic matchup, was a far less contentious affair. With the Dodgers now a loss away from elimination, however, it wouldn't be surprising if Game 4 had this rivalry running hot yet again.

Following their 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday night, the San Diego Padres became the new favorites to win the 2024 World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook.

At +300, the Padres are now ahead of the New York Yankees, who are the No. 2 betting choice at +350. The full listing of World Series winning odds is as follows:

• San Diego Padres: +300
• New York Yankees: +350
• New York Mets: +500
• Los Angeles Dodgers: +800
• Kansas City Royals: +800
• Detroit Tigers: +900
• Cleveland Guardians: +900
• Philadelphia Phillies: +1000

The Padres now hold a 2-1 series lead over the Dodgers in the NLDS, and with a Game 4 win at home on Wednesday night, they can punch their ticket to their second National League Championship Series appearance in the past three seasons.

At 93-69, the Padres reached the playoffs as a wild-card team, finishing five games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

However, the Padres finished the regular season as one of the hottest teams in baseball, going 16-8 in September. They parlayed that momentum into early playoff success as well, sweeping the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Round.

After the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the NLDS, the Padres bounced back with a 10-2 trouncing of L.A. in Game 2 before holding on for the 6-5 win Game 3.

While the Padres have gotten contributions across the roster in the postseason thus far, superstar slugger Fernando Tatís Jr. has led the way, hitting a remarkable .556 with four home runs and seven RBI through five games.

FERNANDO. TATIS. JR. 🤩 #NLDS pic.twitter.com/DbwB6Q0TPJ

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2024

San Diego is the favorite to go the distance in the NL, while the Yankees hold that distinction in the AL, although their American League Division Series with the Kansas City Royals is tied at 1-1.

Following a 6-5 win over the Royals in Game 1, the Yankees fell 4-2 in Game 2, meaning Wednesday's Game 3 in Kansas City will be pivotal for both teams.

The Yankees have the most high-end talent of any team remaining in the AL by far, but they haven't gotten much out of the likely AL MVP in Aaron Judge yet.

After hitting .322 with 58 homers and 144 RBI during the regular season, Judge has gone just 1-for-7 with four strikeouts through two playoff games.

Juan Soto has three hits in eight at-bats, though, and if both the Yankees and Padres are able to reach the World Series, he would be a central part of the storyline since San Diego traded him to New York during the offseason.

In the other ALDS, the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers are tied 1-1. Given that they are both +900 to win the World Series, it suggests they are both viewed as equally likely to move on to the ALCS.

Meanwhile, the New York Mets took a 2-1 series lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS on Tuesday, securing a 7-2 win in Game 3.

Much like in the other NLDS, the Mets finished well behind the Phillies in their division, as Philadelphia won the NL East by six games.

The Mets have looked like a team of destiny in the playoffs, though, ever since first baseman Pete Alonso crushed a go-ahead, three-run home run in the ninth inning of the NL Wild Card Series to beat the Milwaukee Brewers.

New York was viewed as one of the longest shots to win the World Series entering the playoffs, but the Mets are now the No. 3 betting choice, and they can reach the NLCS by beating the Phillies in Game 4 on Wednesday.