You can’t hit a home run from the dugout. The Padres were right to pursue Roki Sasaki, even though, by the time the Japanese pitching ace chose Friday to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, much of their offseason had come and gone to little effect.

Roki Sasaki was expected by many to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were right. The flame-throwing right-hander from Japan agreed to a deal with the Dodgers on Friday, according to a post on his Instagram account. His signing bonus is reportedly $6.5 million, per The Athletic.

The 23-year-old is expected to be an MLB ace -- eventually. Here's what insiders say about Sasaki in 2025 and beyond.

Roki Sasaki, the prized 23-year-old Japanese right-hander, has signed with the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced Friday.

The 23-year-old Japanese phenom has a fastball that regularly reaches triple digits and wowed MLB scouts at the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

The right-hander was one of the most sought after international free agents in recent memory, but the Dodgers won the race to land the coveted pitcher's services.

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.

The Padres will sign left-hander and international amateur free agent Carlos Alvarez, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon. That's an intriguing development given that the Padres are considered one of the three finalists (alongside the Dodgers and Blue Jays) in the running for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes finally came to an end on Friday. To the surprise of nobody, the prized international free agent signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were also interested in Sasaki but narrowly missed out.

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki has whittled his list of teams down to two. On Friday, Cuban baseball reporter Francys Romero reported that the San Diego Padres are “out” on the 23-year-old right-hander. That leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.