When pitcher Roki Sasaki announced he would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday, baseball fans were predictably peeved. Three months after winning the World Series, the Dodgers appear poised to dominate for the foreseeable future.

Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. List of Partners (vendors)

While most of the MLB world outside the Los Angeles area wasn't thrilled to learn of Sasaki's decision, Dodgers minority owner Magic Johnson certainly was excited. The Los Angeles Lakers legend welcomed Sasaki to Dodger Stadium by gifting him a signed No. 32 Magic Johnson jersey.

Over the last year, there had been speculation around MLB that the Dodgers had a possible handshake agreement in place with pitcher Roki Sasaki.

NAPA — Around three o’clock on Friday afternoon, Roki Sasaki announced he was signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Less than 24 hours later, the San Francisco Giants hosted the first leg of their FanFest Tour in Napa to garner excitement for the coming season.

The Padres will sign left-hander and international amateur free agent Carlos Alvarez, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon. That's an intriguing development given that the Padres are considered one of the three finalists (alongside the Dodgers and Blue Jays) in the running for Japanese ace Roki Sasaki.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes finally came to an end on Friday. To the surprise of nobody, the prized international free agent signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were also interested in Sasaki but narrowly missed out.

You can’t hit a home run from the dugout. The Padres were right to pursue Roki Sasaki, even though, by the time the Japanese pitching ace chose Friday to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, much of their offseason had come and gone to little effect.

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki has whittled his list of teams down to two. On Friday, Cuban baseball reporter Francys Romero reported that the San Diego Padres are “out” on the 23-year-old right-hander. That leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Right-hander Roki Sasaki is the next big thing headed to the Major Leagues from Japan. After a whirlwind tour of meetings with eight MLB teams, Sasaki announced via Instagram that he’s signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers,