The San Diego Padres, long viewed among the favorites to sign the next "big thing" from Nippon Professional Baseball, remain among the very few teams with a chance to sign him.

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.

The San Diego Padres faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, a rivalry matchup that was arguably more entertaining than the Fall C

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki announced on Instagram that he will be joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, forcing the San Diego Padres to pivot from their international signing plans.

With ownership turmoil and no offseason additions, the Padres must figure out how to contend without the Japanese phenom they coveted.

The introductory press conference of Roki Sasaki at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday was attended by several members of the media who were busy finding the reason why the Japanese ace might have decided on

The San Diego Padres are one of the final three teams being considered by Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki.

At 23, Sasaki joins a Dodgers squad already stacked with Japanese stars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ... down to three finalists: the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, and ...

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been on an unprecedented stretch that dates back to last offseason when they signed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu ... also included the San Diego Padres and Toronto ...

The Padres are finalizing deals with a pair of Dominican prospects and could be out of the Roki Sasaki race. Read more at MLB Trade Rumors.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move many baseball executives have long expected.

While the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays were battling it out for Roki Sasaki, the defending World Series champs seem to have won.