Dodgers Ruin Baseball Again, Sign Star Free Agent Roki Sasaki

The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again, with star free agent starting pitcher Roki Sasaki announcing on Friday afternoon that he'd chosen to join the best team in baseball. 

Sasaki made the announcement himself, posting on his Instagram that he'd signed a minor league contract with Los Angeles, after weeks of speculation as to where he'd ultimately sign. 

Per Instagram's translation, the caption reads: "I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.
I want to slip my sleeve on the Dodgers uniform at the opening conference, thanking everyone who has supported me this far."

Earlier Friday morning, it was reported that the San Diego Padres had been eliminated. But the Toronto Blue Jays traded for international bonus pool money from the Cleveland Guardians, sparking speculation that they were confident in landing Sasaki. Ultimately, though, the 23-year-old star starting pitcher followed his countrymates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Los Angeles.

MIAMI - Roki Sasaki of Team Japan pitches in the first inning against Team Mexico during the World Baseball Classic Semifinals at loanDepot park on March 20, 2023. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Rich Dodgers Get Even Richer With Roki Sasaki

The reaction to Sasaki's announcement among fans of the other 29 teams has been one of frustration and disappointment, with the usual comments by uneducated fans that the Dodgers are "ruining baseball."

Except Sasaki's signing had nothing to do with money, because the Dodgers were limited by their available international bonus pool money for the 2025 class. And that available pool was literally the lowest of any team in baseball. 

All 30 teams could afford to sign Sasaki, and per several reports, there were 20 teams that submitted materials to Sasaki and his agent Joel Wolfe when he was officially posted. Sasaki had in-person meetings with around 8-10 teams, including the Mets, Yankees, Giants, Rangers, Cubs, Padres and Blue Jays. Then had second meetings with several other teams. He was even photographed throwing on the Petco Park field in San Diego a week ago. 

He chose the Dodgers anyway. 

This wasn't about money, or deferred money. It was about Sasaki wanting to play in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have a track record of developing players, they can maximize his off-field revenue while playing on a minor league deal, they've already committed to a six-man rotation, easing the transition to a higher workload. They also just won the World Series, and will be a playoff team for the foreseeable future thanks to long-term deals with a number of star players. 

Oh, and they already have two Japanese players, making it easier to handle moving to a new clubhouse, team and country. 

The Dodgers rotation now features Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Sasaki, with Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Bobby Miller and Tony Gonsolin all potentially available. It's a jaw-dropping list of talent, and makes them immediate favorites to repeat as World Series champions. Though of course, that's not how playoff baseball works. No matter how many good players the Dodgers have, there will still be at least an 80% chance entering October that another team wins. That's just how baseball works. But the Dodgers have put themselves in an enviable position heading into the regular season, accumulating talent and hoping for the best.

The teams really "ruining baseball" are the ones who refuse to spend money to be competitive, who run tiny payrolls while hoarding profits. There's plenty of money in the sport for all 30 teams to sign their fair share of free agents, and clearly players willing to defer money to make it easier to contend now. But the owners have to be willing to take that risk. Most aren't.

The Dodgers most definitely are. And they've built one of the best rosters we've ever seen as a result.