When Roki Sasaki sat down for a sushi dinner with Dodgers officials and players last week, days before agreeing to sign with the club in one of the biggest coups of baseball’s offseason, Shohei Ohtani was one of several stars in attendance.
It wasn’t the first time the former Japanese teammates had dined together in recent months.
Throughout Sasaki’s highly anticipated and long-awaited posting process and free agency, the Dodgers knew the main pillars they wanted their courtship to be built upon:
That they were the premier destination for star players. That they were the league’s most adept franchise at helping players, particularly gifted young pitchers, develop tools and maximize their talent. That if Sasaki wanted to realize his goal of becoming one of the best players in the world, they were the best team for him.
Read more: Before Roki Sasaki’s posting, MLB found no evidence of handshake deal with Dodgers
All along, the Dodgers also knew who the best couriers of that message would be.
Sure, they wooed the 23-year-old phenom with presentations from their front office, coaching staff and player development department early in the process. They laid out a plan for his growth and ways they believed he could polish his tantalizing arsenal. They even employed one of their iconic owners, former Lakers star Magic Johnson, in their initial in-person meeting with Sasaki last month.
But at the heart of their pitch were testimonials from Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who were teammates with Sasaki’ during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
In December, Ohtani and Yamamoto took Sasaki to dinner, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. The topics discussed are unknown. But weeks later, the meal has become one of the many examples of how Dodgers players pushed to bring Sasaki to Los Angeles, with stars such as Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Tyler Glasnow joining Ohtani and Yamamoto in helping sell Sasaki on the idea of beginning his big-league career in Dodger blue.
“They wanted him to know how much they were looking forward to having him join them. They wanted him to hear the message,”…