than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was 25 when he signed with the Dodgers for a record $325 million last offseason. While Yamamoto was the more decorated and durable pitcher in NPB, Sasaki is younger ...

Baseball fans have the same complaint after Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki signed with the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers.

On this night in December, Sasaki sat down for sushi with former Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It was after he had his initial meeting with the Dodgers and just at the beginning of the 23-year-old’s transition to Major League Baseball.

Japanese star Roki Sasaki signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced on Instagram. The 23-year-old right-hander with a sizzling fastball and deadly splitter joins Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the World Series champion Dodgers.

Sasaki, nicknamed in Japan as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era," struck out 11 batters in 7 and ⅔ innings with a 3.52 ERA during the 2023 WBC. In Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he struck out 129 hitters in 111 regular-season innings for the Marines in the 2024 season.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes have ended with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the winners, but a current pitcher played a large role in doing so.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' newest headline starting pitcher believes he chose the place that can maximize his talent the most. During an introductory

Starting pitcher Rōki Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers in an Instagram post on Friday. According to ESPN's Alden

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki made his free-agent decision on Friday ... and he'll be joining a star-studded roster that features Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, his teammates on Japan's title-winning 2023 World Baseball Classic team.

Weeks later, luring Yoshinobu Yamamoto furthered their cause ... triumvirate of Japanese pitching luminaries by winning the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes. In a possible ode to Ohtani, Sasaki broke ...

Along with Blake Snell – signed to a five-year, $182 million contract in December. And Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was posted one year ago after seven dominant seasons in Japan, signed a $325 million contract – and was the starting pitcher for four of the Dodgers’ 11 postseason wins.

Earlier in the week, the Los Angeles Dodgers released a limited number of tickets to eligible season-ticket holders for the Boys In Blue's season opener at Tokyo Dome against the Chicago Cubs for Mar. 18-19. Tickets set aside for that particular group of fans has since been sold out, but few of those seats have been listed in secondary markets.