Mets' NLCS Foe Dodgers Just Got Stronger With Roki Sasaki

The Los Angeles Dodgers added another Japanese ace to their rotation.
Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The New York Mets' quest for another deep playoff run has gotten a lot harder.

Japanese phenom starting pitcher Roki Sasaki announced on his Instagram account on Friday that he is signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sasaki will now be joining a Dodgers rotation that already has the likes of Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and presumably Shohei Ohtani.

"I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers," Sasaki wrote. "It was a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.

"I want to slip my sleeve on the Dodgers uniform at the opening conference, thanking everyone who has supported me this far."

Despite Sasaki's known dominance and being a generational talent, his reasoning for signing a minor league contract was due to him being under 25 years old and spending less than six years in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The news of Sasaki joining the reigning World Series Champions shouldn't come as much of a surprise after SNY's Andy Martino reported earlier this week that both the Mets and New York Yankees were not expected to land the 23-year-old hurler.

Sasaki began his professional baseball career pitching for the Chiba Lotte Marines for four seasons, going 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts in 394.2 innings pitched.
He was later posted by the Marines on November 8, 2024, and had until January 23 to sign with a major league club.

Sasaki will now join a Dodgers team that is likely the favorite to win or make it back to the Fall Classic, with his presence expected to make Los Angeles' rotation arguably the best in all of baseball.


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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan