LOS ANGELES — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move that many baseball executives have long expected.

The 23-year-old Japanese phenom has a fastball that regularly reaches triple digits and wowed MLB scouts at the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodger

Rōki Sasaki, the 23-year-old phenom from Japan whose services for the next six seasons could be procured by every Major League Baseball franchise for the equivalent of a rounding error, ended his six-week recruiting period by agreeing to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday,

Sasaki's addition widens the gap between the Dodgers and the rest of the league. It also deepens a rotation that struggled with injury.