In a stunning move that has rocked the baseball world, the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki to a blockbuster deal. The 23-year-old ace, who had been dominating Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, is now headed to Hollywood to join the defending World Series champions. The signing immediately vaults the Dodgers’ already formidable pitching rotation into a league of its own.
The Makings of a Superstar
So just who is Roki Sasaki and what makes him so special? The young right-hander first burst onto the scene as a teenager, wowing scouts by hitting 101 mph on the radar gun while still in high school. He then proceeded to break the NPB record with a staggering 19 strikeouts in a perfect game at the tender age of 20.
Sasaki’s electric stuff is simply on another level. His fastball regularly sits in the upper 90s, topping out over 100 mph, with explosive life. He pairs that with a devastating splitter that dives out of the zone and a wipeout slider, giving him three plus to plus-plus offerings. That otherworldly arsenal helped Sasaki post video game numbers in Japan.
Roki’s Ridiculous Numbers
In 2023, while pitching for the Chiba Lotte Mariners, Sasaki’s heater averaged an eye-popping 99 mph. He racked up strikeouts at a historic pace, punching out 37% of the batters he faced. For reference, the major league record is 37.5% by Gerrit Cole in 2019. Sasaki also limited walks, with a minuscule 5% walk rate that would have ranked 2nd in MLB.
He’s the best pitcher on the planet.
– A rival NPB manager on Roki Sasaki
Perhaps most impressive of all, Sasaki accomplished this at age 22, an age when most pitchers are just getting their feet wet in the high minors. His precociousness has drawn comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, who similarly dominated NPB at a young age before coming over to MLB and winning unanimous Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.
The Dodgers’ Pitching Embarrassment of Riches
By adding Sasaki, the Dodgers have assembled what looks to be the most talented pitching staff in recent memory. He joins a rotation that already features:
- Three-time Cy Young winner José Urías
- Hard-throwing lefty Samuel Riggs
- Veteran star Jeff Bowen
L.A. can now run out a playoff rotation where their “worst” starter would be the ace on many other teams. It’s an almost unfair collection of arms that makes the Dodgers prohibitive World Series favorites heading into 2025.
The Contract Details
As a 23-year-old “rookie,” Sasaki was subject to the international bonus pool system, meaning he could only sign a minor league deal at a reduced rate compared to true free agency. Still, with every team clamoring for his services, Sasaki landed a deal at the maximum allowable $7.555 million.
While well shy of the $325 million countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto got from the Dodgers just last offseason, Sasaki’s contract is a record for a bonus pool signing. The Dodgers will also pay a 25% fee to Sasaki’s NPB team, the Chiba Lotte Mariners, as compensation for posting him.
Betting on Talent and Upside
While his 2024 numbers were down a bit from his utterly dominant 2023 campaign, likely due to a minor arm issue, the Dodgers are clearly confident in Sasaki’s long-term outlook. Even in an off year, his stuff remained electric.
If he can get back to his 2023 form and full health, the sky is the limit. You’re looking at a perennial Cy Young contender.
– An unnamed Dodgers official on Roki Sasaki
Indeed, if Sasaki can recapture his peak form, the Dodgers will have landed a absolute steal, acquiring a pitcher with $200-plus million worth of talent for a relative pittance. It’s the kind of high-upside play that has become a Dodgers hallmark, and one that could keep them atop the MLB mountain for years to come.
The Rich Get Richer
With the addition of Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers have once again flexed their financial muscle and strengthened their claim as MLB’s preeminent franchise. Signing a generational talent like Sasaki, even with the bonus pool limitations, is a luxury only a handful of teams can afford.
But as they showed with the Yamamoto deal last winter, the Dodgers are more than willing to outspend and outmaneuver the competition to acquire elite players. In Sasaki, they’ve landed perhaps the most tantalizing young arm to hit the market in years, a pitcher who could one day supplant Ohtani as the #1 Japanese import in MLB history.
The rest of the National League, consider yourselves on notice. The Dodgers’ Death Star is fully operational once again, and with Roki Sasaki joining their star-studded squadrons, resistance may very well be futile in 2025 and beyond. Baseball’s evil empire just got a whole lot more powerful.
