Rival fans are already imploding about Roki Sasaki’s meeting with Dodgers

Padres and Blue Jays fans got a brief but powerful high when, on Jan. 13, details about their clubs' second in-person meetings with Roki Sasaki surfaced.

Sasaki had returned to the States ahead of the opening of the international free agency period on Jan. 15 and the closing of his signing window on Jan. 23. Not only had the Padres and Blue Jays survived the axing that eliminated the Giants, Mets, Yankees, Cubs, and Rangers from consideration, they'd also been quick to jump on the opportunity to make a second impression.

What was perhaps even more exciting to those fans than their clubs' inclusions were the Dodgers' exclusion. Details of Sasaki's trip to Toronto are more vague, but he got the star treatment in San Diego while the Dodgers were seemingly sidelined.

That didn't last long because, of course, it was never going to. On Jan. 14, Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that another Sasaki-Dodgers meeting was set for the same day, and that LA would be trotting out all of their stars to make the pitch.

It didn't take long for Dodgers and non-Dodgers fans alike to start jumping the gun. Jacob Brownson and CJ Garcia of the Bleed Los Podcast were quick to report that Sasaki had informed the Dodgers they were his first choice (a claim that has not been corroborated by insiders from larger outlets), and Padres fans were quick to lose their minds.

Padres, Blue Jays fans are already crying about the possibility Roki Sasaki ends up with the Dodgers

A quick Twitter search with Sasaki's name and either "Dodgers" or "Padres" will reveal a flood of completely unsubstantiated claims that he's already decided either which way. None of these should be taken with even the tiniest grain of salt, and it should be a reminder that this one does look like a real toss-up, and the only good way to go about this is to wait for word from a reputable insider (really just Jeff Passan at this point).

However, it's still hilarious that Padres fans especially are already going through the first stages of grief despite the fact that their team is still very much in the running.

Obviously, Padres and Blue Jays fans have a lot of experience doing this. It'd be wrong for Dodgers fans to get cocky and we may still have to wait a few days until a decision has been reached. However, if he does end up in LA, we can add another item to the list of certainties in life. Death, taxes, and Padres fans whining whenever they lose out to the Dodgers.