{"id":28889,"date":"2025-01-24T21:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889"},"modified":"2025-01-24T21:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:05:54","slug":"shohei-ohtani-tugged-roki-sasakis-heartstrings-with-a-special-guest-to-lure-him-to-dodgers-in-their-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889","title":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki’s Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

We don\u2019t blame you, Roki Sasaki, if the Dodgers\u2018 favorite pup had greeted us, we would have chosen the Dodgers too! Sasaki was the most coveted player at one time, that is until LA snatched him. How did they do that? That\u2019s a question Roki Sasaki still hasn\u2019t answered but that does not prevent analysts and insiders from making speculations.\u00a0 The latest one? Shohei Ohtani\u2019s furry sidekick closed the deal for the young Japanese player.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Of course, it is all in a lighthearted way, but the famous dog was present when Sasaki met with the team. Alongside players like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Tommy Edman, and Shohei Ohtani, Decoy was also an important member of the Dodgers team meeting Roki Sasaki. Lately, Decoy has been garnering a lot of love and attention from fans, and honestly, why wouldn\u2019t he? The Kooikerhondje has been with the two-way phenom in most of the games showing his unwavering support.<\/p>\n

Did Shohei Ohtani bring his best friend Decoy to put his charms on Roki Sasaki?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Maybe. It worked though, didn\u2019t it? Roki Sasaki ultimately chose Los Angeles as his team. Ohtani was front and center in a meeting with Sasaki on Tuesday, and according to The Athletic crew\u2014Fabian Ardaya, Dennis Lin, Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal, and Will Sammon\u2014he was leading the charge. The Dodgers pulled out all the stops in their pitch to Roki Sasaki\u2014and they definitely weren\u2019t holding back on the flair. With Dodger Stadium in the midst of its massive renovations, the meeting took place in a more intimate and relaxed setting: part-owner Peter Guber\u2019s luxurious home in Bel Air.<\/p>\n

\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Picture this: a sushi chef preparing a meal right in front of Sasaki, as he lounges on the couch chatting with future teammates. The vibe was all about making him feel at home, with players even sending personalized video messages emphasizing the franchise\u2019s family atmosphere and the excitement of joining a winning culture. And guess what? The pitch worked! Sasaki is now set to join an absolutely stacked Dodgers rotation alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and eventually Ohtani\u2014talk about a dream team on the mound!<\/p>\n

What does the contract for the young Japanese pitcher look like?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And just like that, one of the most interesting free agents of the offseason is officially a Dodger! Roki Sasaki, the Japanese pitching phenom everyone\u2019s been buzzing about, has agreed to sign with L.A., and it\u2019s a game-changer for the Dodgers\u2019 already loaded rotation. Sasaki made the announcement himself via Instagram on Friday, and the team followed up with a release on Wednesday, confirming the deal.\u00a0 The Japanese ace had until Thursday to sign with a Major League team after being posted by his Nippon Professional Baseball team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, and L.A. swooped in just in time.<\/p>\n

\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here\u2019s the kicker: because Sasaki is under 25, he\u2019s considered an amateur international free agent, which means the Dodgers are getting six years of control over him, and he\u2019ll be earning a rookie salary in 2025. On top of that, Sasaki secured a hefty $6.5 million signing bonus, per The Athletic. Roki Sasaki is also bringing a little bit of Japan with him. The young ace will wear No. 11 next season, the same number he\u2019s sported throughout his career in honor of Yu Darvish, a five-time All-Star and a true icon back home.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the cool part, No. 11 wasn\u2019t just sitting vacant. It was previously worn by infielder Miguel Rojas. In a classy move, Rojas took to Instagram Thursday to announce that he\u2019d be giving up the number for Sasaki, choosing instead to wear No. 72\u2014the same number he wore when he first debuted for L.A. back in 2014. Talk about passing the torch. Rojas\u2019s gesture is a nod to Sasaki\u2019s potential and a sign of the respect he\u2019s already commanding in the Dodgers\u2019 clubhouse. It\u2019s the start of a new era, and No. 11 is now officially Sasaki\u2019s\u2014no pressure!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Decoy was a key component of the Dodgers team that met Roki Sasaki, along with the two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":28890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nShohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Decoy was a key component of the Dodgers team that met Roki Sasaki, along with the two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsHan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889\",\"name\":\"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35ac38e63264df6afdd95f48b1a9032c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki’s Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35ac38e63264df6afdd95f48b1a9032c\",\"name\":\"MsHan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4a99d32ed636a5ab5b74eaa73f50d4b370a29ac17d9ca8df599d578a5f53d61?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4a99d32ed636a5ab5b74eaa73f50d4b370a29ac17d9ca8df599d578a5f53d61?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsHan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA","og_description":"Decoy was a key component of the Dodgers team that met Roki Sasaki, along with the two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MsHan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsHan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889","name":"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki's Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0 - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-24T21:05:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35ac38e63264df6afdd95f48b1a9032c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/SaveVid.Net_474993080_18440153524074670_1116610967834756615_n.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=28889#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shohei Ohtani Tugged Roki Sasaki’s Heartstrings With a Special Guest to Lure Him to Dodgers In Their Meeting\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35ac38e63264df6afdd95f48b1a9032c","name":"MsHan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4a99d32ed636a5ab5b74eaa73f50d4b370a29ac17d9ca8df599d578a5f53d61?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4a99d32ed636a5ab5b74eaa73f50d4b370a29ac17d9ca8df599d578a5f53d61?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsHan"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28891,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28889\/revisions\/28891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}