Miguel Rojas' only request to Roki Sasaki after giving up No. 11 Dodgers jersey

There's a strong precedent in the LA Dodgers camp for giving up jersey numbers to new star signees. Last year, Joe Kelly's family received a Porsche for relinquishing the No. 17 jersey so that Shohei Ohtani could continue wearing it.

Now, there's another star signee this offseason in the form of Roki Sasaki, who wants to wear the No. 11 jersey currently held by Miguel Rojas. During the 2025 DodgerFest over the weekend, Rojas was asked what he would get in return for giving up the No. 11 jersey.

The infielder had the perfect response for Sasaki.

"I'm not asking for anything," Rojas said. "I have everything I want in life. What I will ask of him is to provide what he's supposed to on the mound every fifth day. It's gonna be exciting to play behind a guy throwing 102 with a splitter and a slider. I can't wait to play with him, and all I ask is that he tries to help us win another championship."

Roki Sasaki's idol supports his decision despite not picking Padres over Dodgers

Two of the biggest contenders this offseason to sign Roki Sasaki were the LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Sasaki had Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ready to give him the necessary guidance in LA, while his idol growing up, Yu Darvish, was waiting for him in San Diego.

Despite that, Darvish will always be available to provide guidance should Sasaki need it along the way.

“We’ll see (how) the season pans out for Roki,” Darvish said via interpreter Shingo Horie.

“He may have some adversity that he needs to overcome, some hard times that he needs to overcome, and if he does reach out to me in those moments, obviously I will give him the support that I can give him. I think it's important to do that not only as a player, but as a human being.”

In 2025, there will be many moments of reunion between Darvish and Sasaki, who are now rivals on the field but friends off it.