Ohtani informed the Los Angeles Dodgers they had landed prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani broke the news to the Los Angeles Dodgers that prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was joining the team.

Ohtani sent a text to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman even before Sasaki's agent informed the club.

''It was pure excitement when we found out,'' Friedman said Wednesday during Sasaki's introduction outside Dodger Stadium.

Manager Dave Roberts said his response included ''some expletives, maybe.''

Sasaki signed a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus. The 23-year-old donned a No. 11 jersey with ''R. Sasaki'' on the back, becoming the 13th Japanese player to join the franchise.

Like Ohtani, Sasaki has a dog — a black toy poodle. Sasaki wore socks with a dog's face on them.

''We share the same birthday,'' a smiling Sasaki said through a translator.

"The Padres and Blue Jays made tremendous pitches, presentations. They left it on the field,'' Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe said. ''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. When he came here, I really thought the entire process, it was a coin flip. I had no idea what he was going to say when he ultimately said, `OK, it's Dodgers.'''

Sasaki joined fellow Japanese stars Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a signing many baseball executives long expected.

''I am deeply honored that many teams reached out to me with such enthusiasm, especially considering I haven't achieved much in Japan,'' Sasaki said through a translator. ''It was an incredibly difficult decision to choose just one.''

Although Sasaki pitched just under 400 innings in Japan, Friedman said Sasaki will immediately be part of the team's rotation.

''His goal is to be the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young and he definitely possesses the ability to do that,'' Friedman said. ''The plan is to hit the ground running in spring training.''

''Even then his explosive fastball, pinpoint command and poise beyond his years stood out,'' Friedman said.

During the winter meetings last month, Wolfe denied an agreement with the Dodgers already was in place.

"I believe this was a fair and level process," Wolfe said.

Wolfe revealed last month that MLB had investigated.

''It was a long process,'' Roberts said. ''Roki kept things really close to the vest. There's been a lot of man hours that have been put in this process and a lot of airline miles also.''

Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize a contract. He was considered an international amateur under MLB's rules because he is under 25 and does not have six years service in the Japanese major leagues, making him subject to international signing bonus pools.

Los Angeles started with a pool of $5,146,200 but increased it to $8,102,800 with a pair of trades last week, acquiring $1.5 million from Cincinnati and $1,456,600 from Philadelphia.

The Dodgers are planning to use a six-man rotation, which could ease Sasaki's transition to MLB, as the Dodgers attempt to become the first repeat champion since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.

''He definitely asked about it and was curious about what the plan was,'' Friedman said.

Sasaki touched on the deadly wildfires that have destroyed sections of Los Angeles. He was 9-years-old when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami in his hometown, washing away his house and killing his father and paternal grandparents.

Sasaki was made available to MLB teams for a 45-day window by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League under the posting agreement between Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB.

The Marines will get a release fee of $1,625,000, calculated at 25% of the amount of Sasaki's signing bonus. The money is due within 30 days of the contract's approval by MLB.

Sasaki was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings during a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He went 7-4 with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts in 2023, when he had an oblique injury. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Marines and pitched a perfect game against Orix in April 2022.

Among international amateur free agents, Los Angeles also agreed to deals with Venezuelan infielders Luis Tovar ($397,500) and Moises Acacio ($197,500), Panamanian left-hander Adrian Torres ($362,500) and Colombian shortstop Luis Luna ($137,500).

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