DEAL CONFIRMED: Los Dodgers han adquirido oficialmente el estrellado de Chiba Lotte Marines, manteniendo a reliever para reforzar su bullpen…

Analyst Names The Favorite To Land Roki Sasaki

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the 2024 World Series champions as they defeated the New York Yankees in five games to win their eighth title in franchise history.

Now that the season has concluded, attention will be directed at the free agent class this offseason.

One free agent that stands out is Roki Sasaki, who is a starting pitcher coming over from Japan to join the MLB.

According to MLB Analyst Jon Heyman, the Dodgers are the favorites to land Sasaki, but the San Diego Padres could have a shot.

Sasaki is a 23-year-old starting pitcher from Japan who will be signing with an MLB team and has a special arm.

Heyman names the Dodgers as being the favorite to land Sasaki, and he would potentially join both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the Dodgers rotation.

Yamamoto and Ohtani were both born in Japan, so their presence could have an impact on where Sasaki decides to play.

Heyman also says the Padres could have a chance at signing Sasaki, where he would join Yu Darvish, who is another Japanese-born starting pitcher.

Sasaki played in 18 games in 2024 for his overseas team and held a record of 10 wins and five losses with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched.

The Dodgers already have some big names in their starting rotation, but they are still the favorites to land Sasaki.

It will be interesting to see if Heyman is correct and Sasaki signs with either the Dodgers or the Padres, or if another team comes into play.

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Dodgers Rumors: Roki Sasaki buzz could actually hurt LA in first free agency go-round

It’s official: Roki Sasaki is coming to MLB. After an evidently years-long battle with his NPB team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, they’ve agreed to post their 23-year-old ace and allow him to make the transfer to the States as an amateur free agent.

Despite the fact that he’ll make a minuscule amount of money compared to what he could’ve earned if he’d waited until he was 25, Sasaki has clearly been itching to make the move for a long time and has reportedly been pushing for it to happen behind the scenes.

Corbin Burnes was the hottest free agent pitcher on the market, but now the conversation has totally shifted toward Sasaki, whose ultimate decision about where to sign won’t/can’t be about money, given posting regulations. The Dodgers immediately appeared to have a leg up in the chase — they have a longstanding relationship with him, they have Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu

Yamamoto, and they just won the World Series. Former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, who was teammates with Sasaki this year in NPB, said, “If I was Vegas, I would definitely put [the Dodgers] as the favorite.”

However, there’s also reason to believe that Sasaki might be eyeing smaller-market teams to at least start his career with, according to one seasoned Japanese baseball insider with a source in the righty’s camp.