The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series title in franchise history and their second in the past five seasons.
While their roster is already filled with talent from their lineup to their pitching staff, they continued to add more star players this offseason.
The Dodgers added three top pitchers, including Blake Snell from the San Francisco Giants, Tanner Scott from the San Diego Padres, and Roki Sasaki from Japan.
Now, Sasaki will get to wear the uniform number of his idol, thanks to a new teammate.
“Miguel Rojas gave Roki Sasaki No. 11 and switched back to No. 72, the number he wore in his first stint with the Dodgers in 2014. Sasaki has repped No. 11 in the past like fellow countryman and [San Diego] Padres SP Yu Darvish, Sasaki’s idol growing up,” MLB wrote on X.
Miguel Rojas gave Roki Sasaki No. 11 and switched back to No. 72, the number he wore in his first stint with the Dodgers in 2014.
Sasaki has repped No. 11 in the past like fellow countryman and Padres SP Yu Darvish, Sasaki’s idol growing up. pic.twitter.com/Gw5PfDzyB7
— MLB (@MLB) January 23, 2025
Sasaki arrives in MLB carrying a lot of hype about his electric arm and the potential to be a Cy Young Award candidate in the future.
The 23-year-old joins fellow Dodgers pitchers from Japan, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.
In 2024, Sasaki appeared in 18 games and was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched.
He has never thrown more than 130 innings in a single season, so the Dodgers may choose to use him sparingly as part of a six-man starting rotation.
It will be interesting to see how Sasaki adjusts to MLB and if he excels from the start or goes through a learning curve.
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