Roki Sasaki Padres workout video features terrifying hint for Dodgers fans

After Roki Sasaki dismissed the Giants, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Rangers, and Diamondbacks from his signing consideration on Jan. 13 reports quickly followed that he had held second in-person meetings with the Padres and Blue Jays.

San Diego appears to be the bigger threat in the Sasaki chase, as numerous free agents have already made it clear this offseason that no one wants to go to Toronto. As of Tuesday morning, the Dodgers are the only club remaining who have yet to hold a second meeting.

Despite the Padres' recent ownership turmoil and complete inactivity on the free agent market, they could make a potent emotional appeal by way of Yu Darvish, a mentor to Sasaki who has expressed public annoyance about the Dodgers' hold over Japanese media and prospective Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) players coming over to MLB.

On Jan. 13, as Sasaki was narrowing the field, he was spotted at Petco Park, throwing in full Padres gear. Reports followed to say that "Sasaki not only got the full Petco Park experience but was also welcomed into a player's home for dinner with Padres players, coaches, and front office staff. [Darvish] and Manny Machado played key roles in hosting while [Sasaki] was in town."

Roki Sasaki spotted pitching in Padres gear at Petco Park as Dodgers wait to hear about a second meeting

Ben Badler of Baseball America still named the Dodgers as the favorites in the Sasaki chase as recently as Monday morning. Sasaki's expected to sign closer to the end of his posting window, so there's still the possibility that the Dodgers do have a meeting on the books or will have one soon. Still, it certainly isn't reassuring for LA fans to see him playing the role of a Padre, even for an afternoon.

Despite their many failed attempts at being major players on the free agent market this year, it would be wrong to completely count the Blue Jays out now that the crowd has thinned out so much. They don't have the same emotional ties to Sasaki that the Dodgers and Padres have, but they could offer him the same amount of money as the Padres from the bonus pool, and Toronto would be a softer and less media-frenzied landing place for him.

Things are sure to escalate even further over the week ahead of his Jan. 23 deadline to sign. It seems like Sasaki is covering all of his bases by taking second meetings with all of the finalists, so hopefully another sit-down with the Dodgers is right around the corner.