Roki Sasaki was officially introduced to the baseball world Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
The press conference for the new member of the Los Angeles Dodgers was what you’d expect — jam-packed with journalists from all over the country as well as Sasaki’s native Japan.
President/part owner Stan Kasten, Head of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, Manager Dave Roberts, General Manager Brandon Gomes, and translator Will Ireton all accompanied Sasaki on stage. He was asked an assortment of questions concerning the process of eventually becoming a Dodger.
One response stood out in particular. When asked specifically about why he chose to play in Los Angeles, Sasaki offered the following quote:
“The number one thing that stood out was the stability of the front office.”
Of course, this could mean a plethora of things. The core of the team is in place for the foreseeable future. There’s no reason to think Roberts nor Friedman will be going anywhere anytime soon.
However, when reading in-between the lines further, there’s some thought to the notion Sasaki may have thrown some unintentional shade at the rival San Diego Padres.
San Diego notoriously was in on Sasaki for the long haul. A finalist for his services, many believed that the Padres were indeed poised to sign him. The ‘stability’ part may have been geared towards the ownership situation in San Diego.
When owner Peter Seidler passed away tragically in 2023, the Padres were on the up and up as one of baseball’s most promising. He was aggressive in building a winner — spending the requisite cash and signing off on trades to put together one of the best rosters in the sport.
In the wake of Seidler’s death, his wife Sheel has currently been embroiled in a lawsuit against Seidler’s brothers Matthew and Robert. Seidler’s wife reportedly alleges that he wanted her to be the primary person in control of the franchise. The thought is that this lawsuit will hope to prevent a third brother — John — from running the team.
His brothers feel differently — and have even endured allegations of fraud and other unsavory things at the hands of their sister-in-law.
With all of this going on, San Diego has done next to nothing in free agency with spending on the fritz. Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim are free agents. Catcher Kyle Higashioka signed with the Texas Rangers. Tanner Scott inked a deal with the Dodgers.
Even though San Diego had cleared ample free agent international money to sign Sasaki, it wasn’t enough. Until the ownership situation gets settled, the Padres could be in major limbo — ultimately running the risk of dropping off as a viable World Series contender.
