Shohei Ohtani shared the exciting news with the Los Angeles Dodgers that highly regarded Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki would be joining their team. Ohtani sent a message to Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, even before Sasaki’s agent reached out to the club.
“It was pure excitement when we found out,” said Friedman, on Wednesday, during Sasaki’s introduction outside Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his reaction included “some expletives, maybe.”
Sasaki signed a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus. At 23 years old, Sasaki wore a No. 11 jersey with “R. Sasaki” on the back, becoming the 13th Japanese player to join the Dodgers.
Like Ohtani, Sasaki owns a dog—a black toy poodle. Sasaki even wore socks with a dog’s face on them.
“We share the same birthday,” Sasaki said, smiling, through a translator.
Sasaki is a right-handed pitcher whose fastball exceeds 100 mph. He made the decision to join the Dodgers public on Friday. Sasaki had met with eight teams, and after narrowing down the options, he visited the Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays.
“The Padres and Blue Jays made tremendous pitches, presentations. They left it on the field,” said Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe. “When they left Toronto, I felt like he could easily go to Toronto. When we left San Diego, I felt like he could easily choose San Diego. When he came here, I really thought the entire process, it was a coin flip. I had no idea what he was going to say when he said, `OK, it’s Dodgers.’”
Sasaki joins fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a move that many baseball executives had expected.
“I am deeply honored that many teams reached out to me with such enthusiasm, especially considering I haven’t achieved much in Japan,” Sasaki said through a translator. “It was an incredibly difficult decision to choose just one.”
Shohei Ohtani runs onto the field for introsuction before Game 3
Though Sasaki has pitched just under 400 innings in Japan, Friedman confirmed that Sasaki will be part of the team’s starting rotation right away.
“His goal is to be the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young and he definitely possesses the ability to do that,” Friedman said. “The plan is to hit the ground running in spring training.”
Friedman praised Sasaki as “one of the most electrifying and promising talents in the game” and mentioned that the Dodgers have been tracking Sasaki for the past six years. Their scouts first saw him when he was in high school in Japan.
“Even then his explosive fastball, pinpoint command and poise beyond his years stood out,” Friedman said.
During the winter meetings last month, Wolfe denied that a deal with the Dodgers had been set already.
“I believe this was a fair and level process,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe added that MLB had investigated the situation.
“It was a long process,” Roberts said. “Roki kept things really close to the vest. There’s been a lot of man hours that have been put in this process and a lot of airline miles also.”
When asked why he chose the Dodgers, Sasaki replied, “I thought the Dodgers were at the top. The number one thing that stood out was the stability of the front office.”
Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize his contract. He was classified as an international amateur under MLB’s rules because he is under 25 and has not spent six years in the Japanese major leagues, meaning he is subject to international signing bonus pools.
Los Angeles started with a pool of $5,146,200 but increased it to $8,102,800 with a pair of trades last week, acquiring $1.5 million from Cincinnati and $1,456,600 from Philadelphia.
Roki Sasaki is introduced by Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers plan to use a six-man rotation, which could help Sasaki adjust to MLB, as the team seeks to become the first back-to-back champion since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.
“He definitely asked about it and was curious about what the plan was,” Friedman said.
Sasaki talked about his experiences with natural disasters. When he was 9 years old, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami in his hometown. The disaster destroyed his house and resulted in the loss of his father and paternal grandparents.
“As I also lived through a difficult time due to a natural disaster, I’ve always made sure to never lose sight of my goals and keep looking forward,” he said. “Los Angeles is facing challenging and difficult times right now. As a member of the Dodgers, starting today I am dedicated to give my best and strive forward with the people of this city.”
Sasaki was made available to MLB teams for a 45-day window by the Chiba Lotte Marines, part of an agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB.
The Marines will receive a release fee of $1,625,000, which is 25% of Sasaki’s signing bonus. The payment is due within 30 days after MLB approves the contract.
Last year, Sasaki was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games, striking out 129 batters in 111 innings. His season was limited by shoulder inflammation. In 2023, he had a 7-4 record with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts, despite suffering from an oblique injury. Over his four seasons with the Marines, Sasaki has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.
In addition to Sasaki, the Dodgers signed other international amateur free agents, including Venezuelan infielders Luis Tovar ($397,500) and Moises Acacio ($197,500), Panamanian left-hander Adrian Torres ($362,500), and Colombian shortstop Luis Luna ($137,500).
