The premier team in baseball is about to enhance its already impressive pitching staff with a remarkably skilled and economically advantageous addition.

Rōki Sasaki, a 23-year-old sensation from Japan, has wrapped up a six-week recruitment process by officially joining the World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers, as he announced via social media on Friday. His signing is a significant win for the Dodgers, making them not only stronger but also more efficient and sustainable for the upcoming seasons, particularly 2025. His decision leaves more than a dozen disappointed teams, with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres being the most notable contenders eliminated in the process.

Sasaki opted to be posted by his previous team in Japan, Chiba Lotte, before he had enough service time to become a free agent in Major League Baseball. Following in the footsteps of Shohei Ohtani in 2018, the cost for acquiring Sasaki is only tied to teams’ international signing bonus pool, and his salary will be controlled by the Dodgers for the next six years.

This situation means all 30 MLB teams had a shot at signing Sasaki. Ironically, the Padres and the San Francisco Giants, who competed for him, find themselves in a tough spot now that Sasaki will be joining Ohtani in the same rotation in Los Angeles.

Alongside Sasaki, the Dodgers also have Blake Snell, who signed a five-year, $182 million deal last December, as well as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was posted a year ago after a stellar seven-season run in Japan and signed a $325 million contract; he was a crucial player for the Dodgers in securing four of their 11 postseason victories.

Additionally, the team is welcoming back right-handed pitchers Dustin May and former All-Star Tony Gonsolin from injuries, alongside Clayton Kershaw, who is reportedly in line to return to the team.

Furthermore, with young talents like Bobby Miller and Landon Knack in the mix, the Dodgers now boast nine starting pitchers—an impressive depth that can withstand a full 162-game season alongside potential playoff appearances. This will help ease Sasaki’s transition into Major League Baseball, as he won’t be pressured to make 30+ starts or pitch 200 innings each season.

For a pitcher who has never exceeded 129⅓ innings in a single year, this arrangement is particularly beneficial. His agent, Joel Wolfe, praised Sasaki’s eagerness to learn and indicated that a team’s history and ability to develop pitchers played a critical role in choosing the Dodgers.

And the Dodgers certainly offer a solid foundation to begin from.

Sasaki recorded an impressive 2.02 ERA over 69 games for Chiba Lotte, with his peak performance in 2023 showcasing a 1.88 ERA across 15 games and 91 innings, during which he struck out 135 batters. He had a remarkable final season in Japan, securing 10 wins over 18 starts while collecting 129 strikeouts across 111 innings.

Notably, he tossed a perfect game in 2022, followed by eight more perfect innings in his subsequent start before his manager decided to take him out for cautionary reasons.

Standing at 6-foot-4, Sasaki has the potential to add more weight to his currently 200-pound frame. He has reached speeds of 102 mph with his fastball, which typically hovers in the upper 90s. Similar to Yamamoto, his splitter is a devastating pitch, particularly late in at-bats; it’s expected that Sasaki will, like Yamamoto, need some time to adjust his pitch mix and strategy as he faces Major League hitters more consistently.

Yet for the Dodgers, the risk associated with this signing is minimal. After using most of their $5 million international signing allocation to secure Sasaki, they will pay him the major league minimum—below $800,000—for the next three seasons.

They will also retain control of his rights through three years of salary arbitration and potentially three additional years before he becomes eligible for free agency after the 2030 season. This long-term control of such a valuable asset is a significant advantage.

This is just one of many reasons why the Dodgers, with two World Series championships, four NL pennants, and 12 consecutive playoff appearances since 2013, are exceptionally well-prepared to maintain their top status in Major League Baseball.