The Los Angeles Dodgers have had an offseason to remember.
From retooling a roster with a Cy Young award-winning pitcher in Blake Snell, fixing the relief pitching holes in signing a duo of dominant arms like Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates within 48 hours of each other, and bringing in Korean Baseball Organziation’s three-time Gold Glove Award winner in Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers have filled just about any hole from the World Series winning roster.
Not everyone from the prior season was brought back, but names like Teoscar Hernández, Blake Treinen, and Tommy Edman have all been re-signed or extended so far among the influx of talent.
Not to mention, this is the team that just won the 2024 World Series. The champions of the baseball world have only improved their roster and not once looked back, only towards the quest for the franchise’s ninth ring.
They also signed a 23-year-old pitcher that president Andrew Friedman believes is capable of being the best in the world one day in Roki Sasaki.
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The young phenom from Japan made for a peculiar offseason.
Given his international status and age, teams were limited to their international bonus pool allotment to spend on his contract, limiting a Dodgers team that is used to sparing no expense for top free agent talent.
His decision came down to front office stability, L.A.’s response to his ‘homework assignment,’ and what appears to be passionate pleas by his now teammates during Sasaki’s final meetings with teams before his decision.
The final meeting in which the Dodgers courted Roki Sasaki took place at co-owner Peter Guber’s Bel-Air mansion. Sasaki was met with a sushi chef, current stars of the team, and video presentations from Dodgers that could not attend in person.
Former MVP Mookie Betts reportedly gave a close to 10-minute-long speech about how special Los Angeles is and the home it has become for the Tennessee native.
Less than 72 hours later, Sasaki announced publicly on his Instagram his intention to wear a Dodgers uniform — but minutes before it was made official, the Dodgers got confirmation via a text message from a familiar source: Shohei Ohtani.
“We got him,” read the message from the reigning National League MVP. The pursuit of Sasaki ended with another victory in L.A.
