Breaking: Game Changing Talent From Japan Likely Heading to…

Will the Los Angeles Dodgers ever get tired of stealing the headlines?

It still hasn’t been a week since the Dodgers overcame a five-run deficit in the Bronx to defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Yet already, there appear to be sparks igniting for the Dodgers’ plans in the upcoming free-agent and trade cycles.

If there was one thing the Dodgers were lacking this season, it was starting pitching health. L.A. won the World Series with only three starters available, but what if they go out and land another ace this winter? And what if they add the biggest Japanese star available on the open market–yet again?

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel acknowledged that the wind appears to be turning for Japanese superstar pitcher Roki Sasaki to make his transition to Major League Baseball, and he classified the Dodgers as “heavy favorites” to land the 23-year-old fireballer.

“It doesn’t make any financial sense for (Sasaki) to get his club to post him this year because, like Shohei Ohtani, he would be limited to the international bonus pools that are all under $8 million; if he comes after Dec. 15, the pools reset and he could get as much as $7 million or so, but if he comes before he’ll be limited to roughly $2.5 million at most,” McDaniel said.

“Coincidentally, the team with that roughly $2.5 million remaining in its pool, the most in baseball, is the Dodgers: They are heavily favored to land Sasaki just as they landed Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason.”

Signing Sasaki would mark the end of a truly remarkable two-year heist for the Dodgers in terms of premier Japanese talent. Yamamoto was the most accomplished pitcher to come over while still entering his prime, while Ohtani, who had been in MLB for six years already, is perhaps the greatest baseball player ever.

Sasaki, though, could easily wind up the best pitcher of the three. He’s got the most velocity, he’s dominated the competition to this point, and he’s still so young that he’s got plenty of room to improve still.

Three Japanese superstars atop the Dodgers rotation would be a signal to the rest of the league that L.A. is here to stay–permanently. Plus, though they already dominate the Japanese market, bringing in Sasaki would only increase the appeal of this Dodgers team to one of MLB’s fastest-growing audiences.