Consciously or subconsciously, A.J. Preller’s recruitment of Roki Sasaki, the sudden prize of this major-league offseason, might have begun in earnest on July 6.
That was the day Padres starter Yu Darvish put himself on the restricted list to tend to a private family matter. For the next several weeks, Preller demonstrated a “level of feel” that later elicited open and uncommon admiration from Darvish and a prominent member of his camp. Advertisement Now, Sasaki — who Padres officials figured would be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines either this winter or next — is set to make the move from Japan .
For guidance, Sasaki can turn to Darvish, who has been a friend, mentor and World Baseball Classic teammate. It also feels noteworthy that Sasaki’s representation is expected to include Darvish’s longtime agent, Joel Wolfe, who publicly praised Preller for his handling of Darvish’s situation. Given the sometimes adversarial world of GM-agent relationships, the gesture was not typical.
“A.J. is a somewhat mysterious person, and I know to his staff and coaches, the way he operates, he moves at the speed of light and works all hours — literally,” Wolfe told The Athletic after Darvish rejoined the Padres in August.
“But throughout all of this, he was always there for Darvish every day if he ever needed him, whether it was to meet face to face or on the phone. And the one thing that came through that I realized early on is he knows Darvish much better than anyon.