The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are hot on the tail of Roki Sasaki, the most exciting international prospect on the market. But only one of them can snag him.

The San Diego Padres and the reigning MLB champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are two of the favorites and finalists for the coveted signature of Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, who has been given the green light to sign with any Major League team that can woo him during this offseason.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes is reportedly down to three teams, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blues Jays believed to be the finalists. There might be a very specific reason why he has narrowed his choices down to those three teams.

The San Diego Padres rolled out the red carpet for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki in his visit to the city last week, including appearances from stars like Yu Darvish and Manny Machado.