The Los Angeles Dodgers were ultimately the winners of the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes, but as suspected, the San Diego Padres were right on their heels for most of the process.

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Will Samon and Dennis Lin, the Padres informed Sasaki’s representatives that they were willing to offer him just over $10 million as a signing bonus. It would’ve required multiple trades and used up the entirety of their international bonus pool money, but the club was willing to do it to land Sasaki.

The Padres will sign left-hander and international amateur free agent Carlos Alvarez, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon. That's an intriguing development given that the Padres are considered one of the three finalists (alongside the Dodgers and Blue Jays) in the running for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.