Rōki Sasaki may have taken a pay cut in order to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres were willing to offer Sasaki more than $10

The race to sign Rōki Sasaki appears to be down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. Per MLB insider Francys Romero, the San Diego Padres are

Sasaki named them one of his three finalists, joined by the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. If nothing else, such recognition plants a larger Padres flag in Japan, where Sasaki commands national attention. Coming Japanese stars won’t say “who?” when Padres team-builder A.J. Preller and scouts come calling.

So now what? Roki Sasaki was the Padres' Plan A this winter. They hoped desperately to woo the ace Japanese right-hander as an anchor of their starting rotation for years to come. They made that much known from the moment he was posted last month.

According to multiple reports, the Padres are out on Sasaki and it's down to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are winding down, with finalists emerging and teams being informed that they're out of the running.

The mighty Dodgers, that Evil Empire on the West Coast, have struck again, signing Japanese phenom Rōki Sasaki.

Baseball fans have the same complaint after Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki signed with the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers.

With just two days before the window to sign him opens, the field for star Japanese right-hander Rōki Sasaki has narrowed.

The prized righty pitcher was one of the most sought-after international free agents in recent memory and picked the Dodgers over a considerable list of other suitors.

The Padres, with Japanese star Yu Darvish on the roster, felt they had a legitimate shot at Sasaki, and they had more money to play with, almost $6.26 million, than L.A. But the Dodgers, who eliminated the Padres on their way to the World Series last season, prevailed again.