The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes has come to an finish.
Sasaki introduced on Instagram that he might be becoming a member of the Dodgers, turning into the newest Japanese star to check in Los Angeles. As Sasaki is simply 23 years outdated, he’ll obtain a minor league cope with an invite to spring coaching.
Sasaki’s determination to hitch the Dodgers is the end result of a courtship that started in 2019. He had attracted the attention of the Dodgers, and different main league groups, when he threw over 100 mph in highschool, breaking Shohei Ohtani’s document. Sasaki had flirted with the concept of bypassing Nippon Skilled Baseball altogether earlier than finally declaring for the NPB Draft.
Sasaki rapidly confirmed why he was so coveted, rising as top-of-the-line pitching prospects to ever come out of Japan. His triple-digit fastball, plus slider and a splitter which may be top-of-the-line on this planet, mixed along with his pinpoint management, made Sasaki a dominant drive for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Sasaki had a historic profession regardless of spending simply 4 seasons with the Marines. A two-time All-Star, Sasaki set the NPB document by placing out 19 batters, together with a world document 13 consecutive batters, in his perfect game on April 10, 2022. He adopted that outing with eight more perfect innings, the streak ending when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in a 0-0 sport. He received a gold medal as a part of the 2023 Samurai Japan World Baseball Basic squad. He posted a 29-15 document with a 2.10 ERA and a 0.894 WHiP in his 394.2 innings, placing out 505 batters with 88 walks.
Sasaki joins a loaded Dodgers staff that has some query marks within the rotation. He’ll be a part of fellow countrymen Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Younger winner Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow to type the perfect rotation within the sport. Nevertheless, every pitcher has battled accidents all through their profession. Sasaki himself has durability concerns as he threw greater than 100 innings twice in his time in Japan.
Sasaki is the capstone of what has been another impressive offseason for the Dodgers. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez returned on a three-year, $66 million deal. Outfielder Michael Conforto signed a one-year, $17 million deal to take over in proper. KBO second baseman Hyeseong Kim supplies probably Gold Glove protection and an intriguing choice on the backside of the lineup at second base. Whereas the Dodgers are doubtless so as to add extra items as they appear to defend their World Sequence title, Sasaki is their largest signing within the 2024-25 offseason.
