By Dennis Lin / The Athletic
As spring training opened in February, Yu Darvish expressed both disappointment and understanding regarding two big additions to the National League West. It had been two months since the Los Angeles Dodgers landed Shohei Ohtani with a record-shattering commitment. Another Japanese star, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, had followed Ohtani to Los Angeles by agreeing to the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. Darvish’s San Diego Padres, meanwhile, had slashed their payroll by close to nine figures.
“Frankly speaking, it would have been nice if they came here, if they were my teammates,” Darvish said from the Padres’ complex in Peoria, Arizona. “But I’m happy for them. They’re in a very good organization.”
Darvish went on to explain that he had not attempted to persuade Ohtani or Yamamoto to sign with San Diego. He also suggested that if the Padres’ financial situation were different, he would have been happy to try.
Less than a year later, with another top talent set to come out of his native country, Darvish could be in legitimate recruitment mode. Pitching phenom Roki Sasaki will be posted soon, and Darvish, a godfatherlike figure among active Japanese players, is said to badly want the young right-hander as his teammate.
He is far from alone. Within the industry, the Dodgers continue to be seen as the favorites to land Sasaki after winning a World Series and signing former Padres left-hander Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract. Because Sasaki was not posted before Monday, he is expected to be part of the international signing period that begins Jan. 15, when all 30 clubs will have access to replenished bonus pools. (Teams have 45 days to negotiate with a player from Nippon Professional Baseball once he is posted.) There should be widespread competition for a 23-year-old with world-class talent and a relatively minimal price tag.
Yet, no team would benefit from adding Sasaki quite like the Padres, who may be balancing championship aspirations with another possible budget crunch. San Diego’s projected payroll is above $200 million, and despite clear needs in the starting rotation and left field, paying the luxury tax might not be in the plans for 2025. So, signing Sasaki would go a long way — not only by keeping him from the Dodgers but also in terms of maintaining the Padres’ status as a postseason contender.
Darvish stands as a potential bulwark against the sport’s wealthiest team acquiring Sasaki along with millions in surplus value. At 38, Darvish remains an effective starter and an influential figure on both sides of the Pacific. One of the most accomplished Japanese-born pitchers in major league history, he earned even more respect with the example he set during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Darvish pitched only six innings, but he attended Samurai Japan’s entire training camp, mentored Sasaki and other WBC teammates, and served as a steadying presence throughout an undefeated run to the tournament championship.
Now, whenever Sasaki begins the transition to the majors and life in the United States, Darvish can offer daily guidance. He can tout the natural advantages of San Diego, from the weather to the sizable Japanese population to the relative peace and quiet that might appeal to Sasaki, who hails from a small coastal town. He can juxtapose the scene with Los Angeles, where Darvish played home games in the summer of 2017, attracting media hordes that have only swelled with the arrivals of Ohtani and Yamamoto.
The Padres, of course, have made noticeable inroads toward establishing San Diego as a destination. Petco Park has averaged a sellout per game in each of the past two seasons. The Padres have stability in the form of long-term contracts with Darvish and other prominent players, as well as an A.J. Preller-led front office that includes Hideo Nomo. Despite mixed results on the field, Preller has drawn praise during his tenure from some key players. Darvish — whose agent, Joel Wolfe, also represents Sasaki — is one of them.
(Darvish recruited another Wolfe client, Seiya Suzuki, for the Padres in 2022 before the outfielder signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the Chicago Cubs, one of Darvish’s former teams. Although Darvish also recommended Chicago to Suzuki, it should be noted that the Cubs easily outbid the Padres and other teams.)
After years of frequent turnover, the San Diego coaching staff appears to be trending toward continuity, too. Manager Mike Shildt and his pitching coach, Ruben Niebla, recently received new multiyear contracts. Under Niebla, the Padres have fielded strong staffs for three consecutive seasons. Success stories include Seth Lugo, Michael King and Michael Wacha, pitchers who immediately thrived with the organization while benefiting from Niebla’s ability to blend conventional instruction with technological savvy. Darvish is known to be particularly adept at navigating the Padres’ proprietary database, Basetek, and he has helped other pitchers get more specific in their preparation.
“Just the details, it’s far more than I’ve seen anybody else look into,” pitcher Joe Musgrove said in 2022. “All of us are always looking at what we can throw to get ahead in the count, what guys chase when we want to put guys away, what guys are aggressive early. But he’s breaking it down to different counts — pitcher’s count, hitter’s count, home park, away park. I mean, he looks at every single variable.”
Such knowledge, delivered in a familiar language, could be a boon to a young pitcher adjusting to a new league and a foreign culture. There is an understanding throughout the game that Sasaki will arrive in the majors still in need of substantial development. Darvish has some relevant experience on that front, having reportedly helped Sasaki with his slider during the 2023 WBC.
Perhaps fond memories from that tournament will push Sasaki toward a reunion — either with Darvish (and Padres reliever Yuki Matsui) or with Yamamoto and Ohtani, who flung the final strike of the WBC past Mike Trout. Perhaps the Dodgers’ success and resources will prove irresistible, as many in the industry have long suspected. Perhaps the Padres’ combination of onerous contracts and financial uncertainty will work against them.
For now, Sasaki’s motivations are somewhat mysterious. In a brief statement released by the Chiba Lotte Marines last month, the pitcher said he would “do my best to climb up from a minor league contract to become the best player in the world, so that I have no regrets about my one-and-only baseball career and can live up to the expectations of everyone who has supported me so far.”
This much is known: Unlike last offseason, money is not an obstacle in pursuit of a top Japanese player. And unlike last offseason, Darvish intends to be an active recruiter.
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