After what has already been a very successful offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers, it just got a whole lot sweeter.
After months of speculation and free agency frenzied rumors, Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki has announced that he will officially sign with the Dodgers.
The two finalists to lose to the Dodgers were division rival San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Roki Sasaki Signs With The Los Angeles Dodgers
Sasaki said on Instagram:
“I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.”
Sasaki, age 23, is one of the best pitchers in baseball outside the United States. A two-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star with the NPB single-game strikeout record, the right-handed pitcher has drawn interest from a majority of MLB teams.
- Roki Sasaki stats 2024 (Baseball Reference): 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 4.03 K/BB, 10.5 K/9, 6.7 H/9, 0.2 HR/9 in 111 innings pitched
With the addition of Sasaki, the Dodgers starting rotation is going to be ridiculous. In no particular order:
- Blake Snell
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Shohei Ohtani
- Tyler Glasnow
- Roki Sasaki
- Other SPs include – Landon Knack, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, and Clayton Kershaw is still expected to re-sign.
This will be the unquestioned best starting pitching rotation in the MLB and the batting order not only remained intact from last season after re-signing Teoscar Hernández, but they were also able to add Korean star Hyeseong Kim and Michael Conforto from the Giants.
Enjoy this Dodgers fans, this is special.