Roki Sasaki was the prized international free agent of the offseason, and his decision came down to three teams— the Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Between San Diego and the Dodgers, Sasaki had the opportunity to play alongside two of his fellow countrymen, as the Dodgers boast the duo of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while the Padres have Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui on their roster.
Ultimatly, the decision came down to which team was going to help him develop the best, and Sasaki will be a mainstay in the Dodgers rotation for at least the next six seasons.
Although they will now be divisional opponents, Darvish assured that he will support Sasaki during his major league career, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune.
“We’ll see the season pans out for Roki,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. “He may have some adversity that he needs to overcome, some hard times that he needs to overcome, and if he does reach out to me in those moments, obviously I will give him the support that I can give him. I think its important to do that not only as a player, but as a human being.”
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With the recent signing of Pete Alonso returning to the New York Mets on a two-year deal, there is just one marquee hitter left on the open market, that being third baseman Alex Bregman.
The Houston Astros already traded away star outfielder Kyle Tucker and reliever Ryan Pressley to the Chicago Cubs, and the chances of Bregman finding another suitor is becoming more likely.
As Max Muncy nears the end of his three-year deal, the Dodgers could be seen as a potential suitor to land the two-time World Series champion, per David Schoenfield of ESPN. (Let’s see if this idea will fly over well with Dodgers fans).
Are the Dodgers really ruining baseball with their offseason spending spree? That has become the biggest question regarding this offseason, as the Dodgers have seemingly been able to pluck at whoever they want to haul in.
Commissioner Rob Manfred blatantly disagrees with the notion that the Dodgers are the ones ruining baseball, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
“I recognize, however — and my email certainly reflects it — there are fans in other markets who are concerned about their team’s ability to compete. We always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers? I’m not in that camp.”