Roki Sasaki and the incredible reason why he would reject the Dodgers

he addition of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki to the list of players available in Major League Baseball has moved the offseason, to share interest with Dominican Juan Soto, who is the most sought after free agent.

The Japanese phenomenon will arrive at the age of 23 and that makes him a bargain for any team, who could sign a rookie contract with a pitcher who is said to be better on the mound than Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two of the figures of the Los Angeles Dodgers, current World Series champions.

Although the Dodgers have been mentioned as favorites to sign Sasaki, according to a report by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, there are a couple of obstacles for him to choose Los Angeles. One of them, which seemed to be an advantage because of the strength of the brand in the Japanese market, could play against them, as Sasaki could choose an option in which he is not overshadowed by Ohtani and Yamamoto. The second, according to some reports, is that he is believed to be dealing with an injury.

“There are some factors that complicate the situation for the Dodgers: some scouts believe Sasaki would prefer a smaller market, and his velocity decreased this year, leading some to believe he is suffering from an injury,” McDaniel noted.

For Jim Allen, a baseball columnist for the Daily Yomiuri, “the Dodgers are not assured of signing Roki Sasaki”, as due to the circumstances in which he arrives in MLB, a source close to the Japanese pitcher revealed that the strategy will be to choose a small market team that has a solid development structure.

“Teams will have to sell themselves, not just sign the biggest check. The playing field may not be level yet because not every team will have what he’s looking for, but the size of their payroll is not necessarily that important,” an American League executive said in words published in Essentially Sports.