The Los Angeles Dodgers have become accustomed to getting their way in recent years. Might that change at long last?
Whether it’s been Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Blake Snell, the Dodgers have landed most of the stars they’ve prioritized in the last few free-agent cycles. This winter, they seem to have one youngster circled as their top priority the rest of the way.
Twenty-three-year-old Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki will likely decide on his Major League Baseball team this month, and that has massive ramifications for the entire league. Because of his age, Sasaki is only eligible to sign a minor-league deal, so any team, regardless of payroll could be in the running to land him.
The Dodgers would love to have Sasaki join Team Japan teammates Ohtani and Yamamoto in their 2025 rotation, solidifying themselves as the best pitching staff on the planet. But a division rival could get in the way of those plans.
On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter predicted that Sasaki would land with the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers’ top challenger in the National League West this past season.
“(The Padres) have long been viewed as one of the favorites to sign Japanese League star Roki Sasaki, though they face steep competition from the Dodgers among a long list of teams with interest in the young star,” Reuter wrote.
Sasaki owns a sparkling 2.02 ERA in his four seasons in Japan’s NPB, striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings. There will be an adjustment period when he gets to the U.S., particularly because he’s never thrown over 129 innings in a season, but his stuff is as electric as anyone’s in the world.
Losing Sasaki and having to face him three or four times a year would be a double whammy for Los Angeles, perhaps one of the only things that could wipe the grins from their faces after their World Series triumph in 2024.
But one prediction doesn’t set in stone that the Dodgers will, in fact, lose Sasaki. There’s still time for them to win the battle.
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