The Los Angeles Dodgers may have a secret weapon when it comes to recruiting the best free agents: Shohei Ohtani's beloved dog Decoy.
During an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast on Monday, Los Angeles star Freddie Freeman revealed that Ohtani's dog was present during meetings between then-amateur international free agent Roki Sasaki and Dodgers players.
"Mookie [Betts], me, Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Shohei were the guys that were there," Freeman said. "And Shohei was with him the whole time. Shohei brought his dog. Roki likes dogs too."
And as Freeman amusingly indicates, it was a calculated decision to have Decoy, a Dutch Kooikerhondje, tag along for the meetings.
"We knew what we were doing," Freeman said with a laugh.
Freeman went on to explain that, while the meetings may have helped sell the Dodgers to Sasaki, they weren't intended to be recruiting pitches, at least in a traditional sense.
"But it was mostly like ... We just kind of hung around in a circle. And it wasn't about like, 'Hey come to the Dodgers.' It kind of speaks for itself. It's just more of showing him how the culture is between us guys that are already on the team. And showing him that he will be comfortable if he came to us."
Sasaki inked a minor league contract, which included a $6.5 million signing bonus, with the Dodgers in January. And while the prospect of joining a star-studded roster that just won a World Series undoubtedly appealed to Sasaki, it also likely didn't hurt that the Dodgers' culture is also one welcoming to players' dogs.
As of February, Sasaki's dog had not yet met Decoy. But judging by the quick friendship struck up between Decoy and fellow pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto's dog this spring, it's likely only a matter of time until Sasaki's dog joins the mix.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shohei Ohtani's Dog Decoy May Have Helped Recruit Roki Sasaki to Dodgers.
