The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series with one of the most feared and dominant lineups of all time. Their batting order featured three players who have won MVP awards in the past six seasons, including international superstar Shohei Ohtani, and were able to score 25 runs over the 5 game span in the championship.
And there is a good chance that the team comes back even stronger next season.
Could The Dodgers Add Yet Another Superstar?
For all of the production that the Dodgers got from their bats, their pitching rotation remained something of a question mark throughout the entire 2024 season. It stands to reason that they will be looking to improve in that area before the start of 2025, and they are the team that is favored to bring in the biggest international star on the market this year.
Roki Sasaki, who perhaps has the best pure talent of any pitcher on earth, is officially being posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines.
30 teams will try to sign him.
30 teams also believe he’s going to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 9, 2024
Last year, LA was able to lure in a huge talent from the international pool. Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed an enormous deal with the Dodgers in December 2023, a contract 12 years in length and worth $325 million, becoming just the latest massive acquisition for a team that continuously swings for the fences in free agency and on the trade market.
But there is a new sensation pitching at the highest level in Japan, and he is set to make his move stateside this off-season. Roki Sasaki is currently considered to be one of the most talented pitchers in the world. He is a flamethrower, tied with Ohtani for the fastest pitch ever thrown by a Japanese player (102.5 MPH) in NPB history, and already has a perfect game under his belt at the age of 23.
LA Has +350 Listing To Land Roki Sasaki
His team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, announced on Friday that they would be making him available to MLB teams this off-season. And while all 30 teams will have a shot at making an offer to Sasaki, there is only one that is believed to have an upper hand. Given the familiarity of Sasaki with his fellow countrymen who already play for the team, and the Dodgers’ propensity for being aggressive in their acquisitions, they are the heavy favorites to land the talented pitcher. According to Bookies.com, LA has a betting designation of +350 when it comes to signing Sasaki, implied percentage odds of 22%.
Due to certain international restrictions and laws, Sasaki will not be allowed to be offered a rich contract like the one Yamamoto signed last year. He will instead have to follow the lead that Ohtani set when he signed with the Angels for $2.3 million in 2017.
The other teams that are near the top of the odds board include the Diamondbacks (+500), Padres (+500), and Mets (+600).
