The Los Angeles Dodgers’ acquisition of starting pitcher Rōki Sasaki in free agency on January 17th elicited a range of reactions from other MLB teams, as detailed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Rivals React To Los Angeles Dodgers Roki Sasaki Signing
Some of the teams that missed out on signing Sasaki expressed their frustration in unique ways. “Some of the losing bidders, upon learning of their eliminations, took umbrage,” Rosenthal reported. “One club asked for Sasaki to delete the information it presented to him on an iPad, then return the tablet. Sasaki did, according to a source briefed on the process. Another team created a link for its presentation, and canceled the URL upon learning it was out.”
Sasaki ultimately chose to join the reigning World Series champion Dodgers, a team that also features familiar faces like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom were his teammates on the 2023 World Baseball Classic-winning Team Japan roster. While Sasaki attracted interest from multiple teams, his finalists included the Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays.
The strong pursuit of the 23-year-old is understandable, given his impressive performance in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Chiba Lotte Marines. In 64 NPB appearances, he compiled a 2.10 ERA and 0.894 WHIP, with a 29-15 record. He has also shown promising form in spring training, recording seven strikeouts in seven innings without allowing an earned run in his first two appearances.
Despite the varied recruiting strategies employed by other teams, Sasaki will begin his MLB regular-season career with the defending champions.