[Lin] Padres’ Yu Darvish on Roki Sasaki: ‘It’s a good thing if he were to come to San Diego’

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  1. Darvish confirmed his desire to play with Roki Sasaki, the Japanese phenom coveted by all 30 major-league franchises.

    “I think it’s a good thing if he were to come to San Diego,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie, the pitcher’s first public comments since Sasaki was posted. “Just for myself personally, if it does happen, yeah, it’s a great thing for me as well. But we’ll see how things shake out.”

  2. no recruiter looms as large as Darvish. Perhaps the most accomplished Japanese-born pitcher in big-league history, Darvish said he first met Sasaki in training camp ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The two men subsequently helped Samurai Japan to the tournament title and they have grown close. Though multiple team officials have said Darvish is “all in” on the club’s planned efforts to convince Sasaki, he seemed to downplay his potential influence.

    “I don’t think there’s much that I can do,” Darvish said after helping first- and second-graders navigate the aisles of a San Diego Walmart as part of the Padres’ Holiday Giving Tour. “He knows what he wants, he’ll make his decision, and I’m sure there’s going to be a couple of meetings coming up for him. And that will give him an opportunity to see what organizations are like. I’m sure he’s going to make his decision, and we’ll all be respectful of that.”

  3. “If there is an opportunity or if I am asked to join a meeting, I’m here in San Diego throughout the offseason,” Darvish said. “So if there is a time or if they want me to come join a meeting, then, yeah, I’ll be happy to do that.”

    Darvish described Sasaki, 23, as “a very good person” and “very hungry to learn.”

    “We were able to spend a lot of time together during that time in the WBC,” Darvish said. “We would watch a lot of games together. We got to communicate and talk a lot together. I’ve had very good conversations with him.”

  4. If we get Sasaki the off-season is a success no matter what happens. Gives us so much more flexibility in the future due to how cheap he’ll be. Please don’t turn to the dark side Roki

  10. I want Roki as much as the next fan yet it’s going to be competitive AF. I gotta think a team going in with a 6 man rotation is a huge part of the decision. He averages about 100 inning a season in Japan due to a shorter season and a 6 man rotation. This gives LAD a clear advantage at this point.

    Also worth mentioning that Roki will need time to adjust to the MLB level of play. Mentioned before he could see some months in the minors for this.

    He has big upside yet assuming he’s a plug in and go front end ace that will give you 180-200 inning isn’t being realistic.

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