"Think about the marketing power right now for the Dodgers in Japan" - MLB insider on Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki’s impact in LA

MLB: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers - Source: Imagn
MLB insider on Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki’s impact in LA (image credit: IMAGN)

Last season, the LA Dodgers were the most famous team in Japan. Thanks to Shohei Ohtani's brilliant campaign and the arrival of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japanese fans largely followed the Dodgers throughout their quest to win the World Series.

If they were able to do that with two Japanese superstars, it's not hard to imagine how much stronger the following will be in 2025. They've added Roki Sasaki to form a three-headed beast of top Japanese players.

That's what former MLB general manager Steve Phillips believes will be the case.

"It's LeBron James and the Big Three in Miami," Philips said on Monday, via the MLB Network. "The big three Japanese superstars. They really do have this Big Three. And because they have three Japanese pitchers, they can all be managed in a similar way which means each probably making one start a week. You think about the marketing power right now for the Dodgers in Japan. The value of these players in a diverse market in Los Angeles, it feels like this is the right fit."

Sasaki's signing with the Dodgers had Phillips reminiscing about LeBron James joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat in 2010. It forms a trio of superstars that the entire nation of Japan knows well, giving them an international audience unlike any other team.


Roki Sasaki's agent thinks pitcher will translate well

The transition from the NPB to the MLB can be difficult. It remains to be seen how well Roki Sasaki will do in the best baseball league in the world, but his agent, Joel Wolfe, is confident.

Roki Sasaki is ready for the Dodgers (Getty)
Roki Sasaki is ready for the Dodgers (Getty)

He believes his experience at the World Baseball Classic helped him get the experience and the comfort to try and take his talents to America.

"Being around (Yu) Darvish, being around Ohtani, and then seeing (Shota) Imanaga come over and dominate at such a level in the first half, I believe he realized in order to take it to the next level, he had to come here, play against the best players in the world every day and tap into all the resources that Major League teams have to help him become one of the best pitchers to ever not just come out of NPB, but to be one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball," Wolfe said on Saturday, via Forbes.

The Dodgers are counting on him to be exactly that.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez
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