Sasaki wants to be 1st Japanese pitcher to win Cy Young
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki has lofty expectations for himself as he prepares to begin his MLB career in 2025.
Sasaki said Wednesday during his introductory press conference in L.A. that his goal is to be the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young, according to Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation.
The 23-year-old ace, who signed a minor-league contract with a $6.5-million signing bonus last Friday, will join fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a loaded Dodgers rotation that also features Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow.
"It wasn't a priority for me if there was or wasn't a Japanese player on a team, as I was looking at all the teams," Sasaki said, according to SportsNet LA. "Being able to play with Ohtani and Yamamoto - both exceptional players - really looking forward to playing with them and not just them but the rest of the team, which is incredibly talented."
The trio helped Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Sasaki also acknowledged the World Series champions stood out to him because of "the stability of the front office," according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers plan to use Sasaki as a starter to begin the season and will get input from the pitcher on how he recovers between starts, per McKain.
The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were the other two finalists for Sasaki after his agent Joel Wolfe said as many as 20 MLB clubs showed interest earlier in the offseason.
"I don't believe it (L.A.) was always the destination," Wolfe said Wednesday, according to Kyle Glaser of MLB.com. "I think that the Dodgers do have a home-field advantage in Japan. ... But when he came over here, he had a very open mind."
Wolfe added: "When they left Toronto, I felt like he could easily go to Toronto. When we left San Diego, I felt like he could easily choose San Diego. And when he came here, I really thought the entire process, it was a coin flip."
Sasaki posted a 2.02 ERA with 0.88 WHIP and 524 strikeouts over 414 2/3 innings across four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.