Ex-MLB GM predicts Dodgers emulating Joe Torre's Yankees as Roki Sasaki joins Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell in AL West

Reigning World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have strengthened the team further in the offseason as they signed Roki Sasaki from the international free agent market.

Sasaki was considered the best pitching prospect available this winter, and the Dodgers will only have to pay the 23-year-old a minor league salary due to his age.

Former New York Mets general manager Steve Phillips believes the addition of Sasaki places the Los Angeles Dodgers in prime position to defend the World Series crown. Joe Torre's New York Yankees were the last team to win back-to-back World Series titles when Torre guided them to three successive titles from 1998-2000.

He feels the Dodgers now have immense quality and depth to their rotation, allowing them to keep their top pitchers like Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow to stay relatively fresh for the playoffs.

Steve Phillips was the Mets GM from 1997 to 2003. Phillips presently works as an analyst, and he gave his reaction to the news of the Dodgers signing the Japanese pitcher for The Leadoff Spot on MLB Network Radio this Friday.

"The rich just got richer," he said. "Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, now Roki Sasaki. They signed Blake Snell. They have Tyler Glasnow, with a slew of young arms to support the depth of that rotation.

"They are primed and ready to defend their World Series championship," he added. "Trying to be the first back-to-back champion since the 1999 and 2000 New York Yankees. This team is loaded right now."

The Dodgers signed Glasnow and Yamamoto in the previous offseason along with Ohtani, with the two-way superstar ready to take the mound again after winning the National League MVP as a DH last year. Meanwhile, two-time Cy Young winner Snell joined the team on a five-year, $182 million deal in December.

Roki Sasaki chooses the comfort level of other Japanese pitchers: Steve Phillips

Roki Sasaki will reportedly receive a $6.5 million signing bonus from the Dodgers (Image Source: Imagn)

Steve Phillips underlined the primary reasons why Roki Sasaki opted to sign for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the rest of the MLB. The San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays were marked down by the player as the other final candidates to attain his services.

"For the Dodgers, they beat out their rivals, the Padres. They beat out the Blue Jays and 27 other teams as Sasaki chooses the comfort level of other Japanese pitchers. A team that has assimilated Japanese players very well, has managed the starting pitching, giving the extra rest, the protection, the depth," he said. "Understanding you want to manage the 162 games and then the postseason."

Sasaki played four seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the NPB and is a two-time All-Star. He shot to stardom after pitching a perfect game for his team in April 2022.