Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki opted for the Los Angeles Dodgers despite San Diego Padres' concerted efforts, including hosting by Joe Musgrove and Manny Machado. Musgrove noted Sasaki's possible fatigue affecting decision-making,

Teams were eliminated by Sasaki until it was down to three finalists: the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. Sasaki opted to follow in the footsteps of Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim this offseason and choose the Dodgers above other offers.

In a way, the financial aspect is even rosier than that (from the Dodgers' perspective), as typically with a prospect of this caliber, a team might feel pressure to sign him to an early extension. With Sasaki, there's no such pressure: Any talk of an extension now would be viewed as circumventing the transfer rules. It's almost too good to be true.

The starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres, Yu Darvish, admitted he holds no grudge against his fellow countryman Roki Sasaki for choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers to fulfill his dream of debuting as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB).

A Los Angeles Dodgers division rival didn't mince words when commenting on serious accusations about the star pitcher joining the team.