"Kids going to hate Dodgers the way we grew up hating Yankees" - Fans react to Roki Sasaki signing with star-studded Los Angeles NL West team 

As was largely anticipated, the Los Angeles Dodgers have come out as the winners in the race to sign Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers claimed the World Series title last year despite having a depleted starting rotation, and this latest addition strengthens the star-studded team even further.

Therefore, MLB fans in general did not react too kindly to the news on social media about Roki Sasaki heading to the LA Dodgers. Some feel the present generation of youngsters is going to despise the team just as people hated the New York Yankees during their dominant years in the 1990s and early 2000s when they were regularly outbidding the league for the top free agents.

The Dodgers had formed a fearsome starting rotation for the upcoming campaign that has now been complemented even further with the arrival of Roki Sasaki. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be their only remaining starter from the last postseason while they added Blake Snell this year. Tyler Glasnow will be back from the IL for Opening Day while Shohei Ohtani is also set to return to the mound this season.

On the other hand, the LA Dodgers will have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman at the top of the batting lineup alongside Shohei Ohtani. They also re-signed Teoscar Hernández after his excellent season with the team last season, while they added outfielder Michael Conforto from the free agent market. Earlier, the Dodgers had retained utility player Tommy Edman to a long-term deal as well.

Fans shared their reactions to the Dodgers signing Sasaki on X/Twitter:

"Kids going to hate Dodgers the way we grew up hating Yankees," wrote one fan.

"Dodgers making a farce out of all these signings," said another fan.

"Why was he even interviewing with all the other teams?" asked one fan.

Some fans pointed towards a salary cap to be instated in the MLB:

"The spending disparity between teams makes this league ridiculous," one fan remarked.

"The Dodgers are stealing all the talent," another fan wrote.

"Rich get richer," said another fan.

The Dodgers seem ready to start a new era of dominance after winning two World Series championships in the past five seasons.

Roki Sasaki adds further strength and depth to LA Dodgers rotation

Roki Sasaki won the 2023 World Baseball Classic alongside Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Image Source: Imagn)

The Dodgers already had a strong starting rotation with tremendous depth, and the addition of Roki Sasaki consolidates their pitching staff even further. Although the club typically uses a six-man rotation during the regular season, it will have a few extra arms on the bench so that it can preserve extra gas in the tank for its top starters in the postseason.

As things stand, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are likely to be the top two guys in their rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki will ideally be the next ones in the order. Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Landon Knack and Emmet Sheehan will likely have to battle to earn the final spot in the starting rotation.