The rich get richer.
Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers on a minor-league deal. Sasaki announced the decision himself in an Instagram post on Friday.
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Sasaki will receive a signing bonus of $6.5 million, according to reports from The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and ESPN's Alden González.
“I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers," Sasaki's post said, in Japanese. "It was a very difficult decision, but I will do my best I can feel this was a correct decision, once I look back on my life as a baseball player. At my news conference for joining the club, I hope to wear my Dodgers uniform, feeling gratitude for all those who have supported me.”
The two other finalists for Sasaki reportedly were the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.
The reigning World Series champions have reloaded this offseason after a dominant playoff run, with Sasaki now joining Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim as the Dodgers' newest additions. The team also re-signed outfielder Teoscar Hernández and reliever Blake Treinen.
The 23-year-old Sasaki is a unique case given his age and accomplishments. Due to the fact that he's younger than 25, Sasaki had to sign a minor-league contract with a signing bonus that couldn't exceed around $10 million. To compare, the Dodgers signed then-25-year-old Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of Japan to a $325 million contract last offseason.
Sasaki has rivals the achievements of his new teammate Yamamoto despite joining MLB at two years younger. He pitched a perfect game in the NPB in 2022 and had a 2.02 ERA in 69 games over four seasons, which earned him the two All-Star appearances. Sasaki holds the world record with 13 consecutive strikeouts in a single game.
The right-handed Sasaki joins a stacked Dodgers rotation that features Snell, Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Landon Knack.
Reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are all returning from injury and expect to be available either immediately or early in the season, too. Plus, 36-year-old veteran Clayton Kershaw remains a free agent and seems likely to return to the only team he's ever pitched for.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.