Rōki Sasaki Rumors: Padres Were Prepared to Offer $10M Contract Before Dodgers Deal

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 million before he signed with the Dodgers for a reported signing bonus of $6.5 million, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Dennis Lin, Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.

"The Padres told Sasaki's group that they were prepared to trade to max out their bonus pool, according to a league source, and offer the Japanese pitcher the entire sum, a little more than $10 million," The Athletic reporters wrote.

Sasaki will join MLB in 2025 after posting a career 2.10 ERA in four seasons with Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines.

He announced Saturday on social media that he was signing with the Dodgers. The other finalists to sign him were the Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.

His team had previously informed the New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs he would sign elsewhere, according to multiple reports (h/t MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan.)

According to Ardaya, Lin, Mooney, Rosenthal and Sammon, the contest between the final clubs "went up to the final hours before Sasaki announced his decision on Instagram."

The Blue Jays added $2 million to the total they could offer Sasaki by making a trade with the Cleveland Guardians that sent outfielder Myles Straw to Toronto, per ESPN.

The deal required the Blue Jays take on $11.8 million of Straw's contract, but expanded the team's international signing bonus pool to about $8.3 million, according to ESPN.

Because the Blue Jays had not signed any other players since the window opened, they could have used that total on Sasaki. Because of MLB signing rules, the pitcher's initial contract will be limited to the size of the team's bonus pool plus up to 60 percent of the total acquired through trades.

As noted by the Associated Press, the Dodgers had the 29th-largest bonus pool available in MLB with about $5.1 million available.

According to The Athletic reporters, the difference between the offers came down at least in part to "stability... particularly as a contrast to the ongoing legal battle surrounding the rival Padres' ownership group."

While the legal battle over ownership of the Padres continues, Sasaki will join countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in their preparation for another run at the World Series in 2025.