Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is soaking up the spotlight in the wake of joining the Dodgers, meeting LeBron James and Rui Hachimura at the Lakers game Tuesday.

The mighty Dodgers, that Evil Empire on the West Coast, have struck again, signing Japanese phenom Rōki Sasaki.

Baseball fans have the same complaint after Japanese star pitcher Rōki Sasaki signed with the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers.

Roki Sasaki is on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although these words may not feel real yet, it is happening. More Dodgers: Roki Sasaki Signing is a Testament to the

Roki Sasaki is already mingling with the other stars in Los Angeles. Just days after the Dodgers signed the Japanese phenom, Sasaki was sitting courtside for the Lakers game Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena,

The Rangers President of Baseball Operations said the organization put its ‘best foot forward’ in its pitch to the Japanese right-hander.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes are winding down, with finalists emerging and teams being informed that they're out of the running.

Sasaki, nicknamed in Japan as "the Monster of the Reiwa Era," struck out 11 batters in 7 and ⅔ innings with a 3.52 ERA during the 2023 WBC. In Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he struck out 129 hitters in 111 regular-season innings for the Marines in the 2024 season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have added two new faces to their starting rotation this offseason. The additions of Blake Snell and Rōki Sasaki could mean they won't bring back one of their key players from last season.

Along with Blake Snell – signed to a five-year, $182 million contract in December. And Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was posted one year ago after seven dominant seasons in Japan, signed a $325 million contract – and was the starting pitcher for four of the Dodgers’ 11 postseason wins.

The Dodgers cemented their status as the preferred MLB destination for NPB stars and transformed their rotation into a Mount Rushmore of Japanese pitching luminaries by winning the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes.