Roki Sasaki donned jersey No. 11 for the Los Angeles Dodgers as he met the press for the first time in North America on Wednesday afternoon. I Japanese said it was the culmination of an “incredibly difficult decision”.
In the long process leading up to the 23-year-old Gunner’s decision, 20 MLB teams have officially expressed interest. Eight of these clubs had a first meeting at the offices of Sasaki’s agency, Wasserman, in Los Angeles. Three were then named finalists in mid-January, including the Toronto Blue Jays, which resulted in official visits. Finally, to everyone’s surprise, it was the Dodgers who won.
The Dodgers had long been considered the favorite for Sasaki, so much so that many considered the pairing inevitable. In the aftermath, recruiters and industry executives privately complained about being drawn into a process whose outcome was already determined in advance. Some also expressed concern that the assignment Sasaki gave to each of the eight teams he initially met with, asking them to present their ideas on how to get his fastball back to life, led them to provide proprietary information without ultimately having a reasonable chance of obtaining it.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, admitted to hearing some of these complaints in recent days.
“I’ve tried to be an open book and as transparent as possible with every team in the league,” said Mr. Wolfe, who vehemently denied allegations of a predetermined deal from the start. “I answer all the phone calls, I answer all the questions. This goes back to before the process even began. I think every team will tell you that I told each of them where they were throughout the process, why they had a meeting, why they didn’t have one, why other teams had a meeting. I did my best for this. He was only going to be able to choose one.”
Sasaki, 23, is considered one of the most promising pitchers in the world, with a fastball that touches 100 mph and an extraordinary breaking ball. In four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki posted a 2.10 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 505 strikeouts against just 88 walks in 394.2 innings.
“I have spent the last month embracing and reflecting on this unique opportunity to choose a location based solely on where I can grow the most as a player,” Sasaki continued. “Each organization has helped me in their own way, and it was incredibly difficult to choose just one. I am fully aware that there are many different opinions. But now that I have decided to come here, I want to move forward being convinced that the decision I made is the best, trusting those who believed in my potential and being convinced of the goals that I set for myself. »
-Sasaki has accumulated just over 200 innings over the past two years and is expected to be treated cautiously in the United States. The Dodgers won’t put a hard limit on him in 2025, but will deploy a traditional six-man rotation, which also makes sense with Ohtani returning to the mound.
In their first meeting with Sasaki, the Dodgers touted their training staff, pitching coaches and performance science group, which work in harmony. In the second meeting, they brought in Ohtani, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Will Smith, Sasaki’s receiver, in hopes of wooing him.
Ultimately, it was Ohtani who broke the news to Dodgers management, letting them know that they had spoken to Sasaki via text before his agent had time to call him.
Friedman called it “pure excitement.” Many others, however, rolled their eyes at what they saw as inevitable. Wolfe denied it, saying: “I don’t believe that [les Dodgers] have always been the destination.” But then he described the importance of the Dodgers in Japan. Their matches are broadcast every morning and rebroadcast later at night. Stores dedicated to the Dodgers populate stadiums across the country.
“They’re everywhere,” Mr. Wolfe said. “And I think all the players and fans see the Dodgers every day, so they always think about it because of Ohtani and Yamamoto. But when he came here, he came with a very open mind. »
