The Los Angeles Dodgers made another significant addition to their starting rotation with the signing of Roki Sasaki to a Minor League contract.
The Japanese phenom is making the jump to MLB after spending the last four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Like all players who come from Japan, Sasaki will have to navigate several changes with the move. Among them are a potential new pitching schedule and routine, and slightly different baseball from the one used in NPB.
Mookie Betts believes the presence of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will help Sasaki have a smooth transition to the Majors, via Stephen Wade of The Associated Press:
“Roki is really, really soft spoken,” Betts said. “You can tell that he’ll love being around Yoshi (Yamamoto) and Shohei. I think that will really help him a lot.”
Sasaki is already familiar with Ohtani and Yamamoto as they were teammates on Team Japan during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The 23-year-old should benefit from having two of his fellow countrymen on the Dodgers who were once in the same position and understand the challenges of adjusting to a new league.
Ohtani and Yamamoto were among the many Dodgers players who played a role in the recruiting of Sasaki.
Betts is also looking to help Sasaki “break out of his shell” and become the best pitcher in the world.
Decoy was at Dodgers’ meeting with Roki Sasaki
Sasaki’s second visit with the Dodgers included appearances by Ohtani, Betts, Freddie Freeman and Tommy Edman, among others. According to a report, Ohtani’s dog, Decoy (Dekopin in Japanese), was also present for the Dodgers’ meeting with Sasaki.
Sasaki wore custom socks with his dog on them at his introductory press conference with the Dodgers. The right-hander did not share his dog’s name, but revealed they have the same birthday as each other.
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