Japanese baseball star Roki Sasaki joining LA Dodgers, teams up with Ohtani, Yamamoto
The race to snag the 23-year-old pitcher had become one of the dominant subplots of the baseball off-season
Japanese star Roki Sasaki is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers following a frenzied Major League Baseball battle for the coveted pitcher’s signature.
The 23-year-old confirmed on Friday that he would join up with compatriots and Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a brief statement on Instagram.
“I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Sasaki wrote on Instagram beneath a photo of a Dodgers baseball cap hanging on a seat at Dodger Stadium.
The race to snag Sasaki had become one of the dominant subplots of the baseball off-season with a slew of clubs in the hunt for the Chiba Lotte Marines and Japan star.
The Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions, had long been considered front-runners to secure Sasaski’s services, given their huge popularity in Japan because of the presence of superstar Ohtani and pitcher Yamamoto.
The New York Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were all reported to have held meetings with the player and his managers.
