Roki Sasaki just made the already-intriguing 2024 MLB offseason even more fascinating.
The Japanese star pitcher will be posted this year, which means the Chiba Lotte Marines hurler who wowed us all with Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic will be much pursued by MLB teams.
But the rumors are that there’s one obvious choice for his services. That team? The Los Angeles Dodgers.
It honestly makes too much sense. And while we’re at the very beginning of the process, it’s a good time to go over why the recent World Series champions are the favorites to sign yet another big name:
1. The Dodgers have been scouting Roki Sasaki for years
That’s per the Los Angeles Times. If Sasaki wants to know which teams have interest and perhaps which ones already have a relationship with his reps, the Dodgers have been there.
2. His Team Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are Dodgers
It’s probably comforting to have those two as teammates, plus they can tell Sasaki how awesome the organization is.
3. The Dodgers have the most money left in their bonus pool this year
The dodgers just so happening to have more of their bonus pool available than any other team in the league, the same year they landed yamamoto and ohtani, kinda makes you wonder how long they’ve known about Sasaki wanting to come over this offseason.
— Hunter the BeerKid™ (@theBeerkid69) November 9, 2024
Hmmm.
4. If the Dodgers have a six-man rotation, that’d be nice for a pitcher used to throwing once a week
Echoing what Andrew Friedman said during the postseason, Brandon Gomes today said "it's a fair bet" the Dodgers will run a six-man starting rotation next year.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 6, 2024
Also hmm.
