The Dodgers have done it again

They get their guy

The Dodgers had already had an A+ offseason. Well after yesterday, I’m giving them an A++.

For over a year, 23-year-old Roki Sasaki has been rumored to the Dodgers. Betting odds had the Dodgers as the heavy favorites. It seemed like every person connected to baseball said Sasaki to LA was a no-brainer.

Still, you never know until it’s official.

Sasaki had until next Thursday to decide on his next team. In the days leading up to his decision, teams were being eliminated one by one. On Friday morning, it was reported that the final two teams were the Dodgers and Blue Jays.

Shortly after 3 pm local time, Sasaki took to Instagram to announce his decision. He had chosen the Dodgers.

I haven’t really gone too in-depth on Sasaki this offseason, but this is a monumental signing for the Dodgers.

First off, Sasaki is considered to be the best pitcher on this planet that wasn’t in Major League Baseball. At the young age of 23, many have said he has the stuff to be one of the best pitchers in the world. In a rotation headlined by names like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, the 23-year-old Sasaki has a chance to be better than all of them.

What’s the price to add a talent like Sasaki? $300 million like with Yamamoto?

How about only $6.5 million.

Yup, that’s it.

Because he’s younger than 25, Sasaki isn’t considered a free agent like Yamamoto was last offseason. He’s considered an international amateur, therefor he can’t sign one of those mega deals. He can only sign for an international bonus.

Instead of making $30+ million a season, Sasaki will be earning the league minimum, like any rookie that comes up through the minors. He’s under control for the next six seasons, with majority of those years being really, really cheap.

It almost seems unfair. The Dodgers could have a Cy Young caliber pitcher making the league minimum.

Had Sasaki waited two more years to come over, he likely would have gotten a contract similar to Yamamoto, maybe even more. He passed on hundreds of millions of dollars to come over now because he’s ready. He wants to compete at the highest level and win.

Oh, I guess I should mention his numbers, right? Well earlier I said he’s the best pitcher on the planet that wasn’t in the big leagues. These numbers back it up.

2022: 2.02 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 129 IP, 12.0 K/9, 1.6 BB/9

2023: 1.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 91 IP, 13.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9

2024: 2.35 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 111 IP, 10.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9

I mean, those numbers are absolutely insane. He took a step back in 2024, but even in a “down year” those are Cy Young caliber numbers.

Sasaki has a chance to be the best pitcher in all of baseball. Oh, and he’s going to be your No. 4 starter as a rookie.

The rotation the Dodgers have put together has a chance to be historic. It has a chance to be one of the greatest starting rotations we’ve ever seen in Major League Baseball.