A.J. Preller’s pursuit of Roki Sasaki, the standout prize of this offseason, may have unofficially started in the middle of the summer. On June 6, Padres pitcher Yu Darvish was placed on the restricted list to handle a personal family matter.

Pitcher Roki Sasaki is the next star to make the jump from Japan to Major League Baseball. With Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto starring for the champion Los Angeles Dodgers, smart money is on Sasaki heading to Hollywood.

The Dodgers have sought to, in the words of manager Dave Roberts, “paint the country of Japan blue” through their leveraging of last winter’s Japanese signings, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They’ve fostered a strong relationship with Sasaki’s agent,

Roki Sasaki becomes a free agent after posting a 2.02 ERA with 524 strikeouts in 414 2/3 innings over four seasons with Chiba Lotte in Japan