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

Even with Soto no longer available, there are plenty of other top-tier free agents, including Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki and slugging ... New York from the San Diego Padres last offseason ...

Sasaki named them one of his three finalists, joined by the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. If nothing else, such recognition plants a larger Padres flag in Japan, where Sasaki commands national attention. Coming Japanese stars won’t say “who?” when Padres team-builder A.J. Preller and scouts come calling.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are winding down, with finalists emerging and teams being informed that they're out of the running.

Baseball fans have the same complaint after Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki signed with the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers.

With just two days before the window to sign him opens, the field for star Japanese right-hander Rōki Sasaki has narrowed - setting up a likely battle between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles ...

including Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki and slugging first baseman Pete Alonso. And as Soto himself knows, after being dealt to New York from the San Diego Padres last offseason, there could ...

With just two days before the window to sign him opens, the field for star Japanese right-hander Rōki Sasaki has narrowed.

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Right until the very end, the San Diego Padres thought they had a real shot at landing Roki Sasaki, doing everything possible — from giving him a star-studded tour of the city to ensuring they had as much international bonus pool money as possible — to give themselves the edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers.