Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki said on Friday he has agreed to join Major League Baseball's reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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 many baseball executives have long expected.

The Japanese phenom will join countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in blue, but this addition isn’t about the Dodgers bludgeoning the rest of the sport with their financial might.

For some teams in Major League Baseball, the chase for Roki Sasaki could not be measured in mere months. It lasted for years. One of those teams, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, concluded that pursuit on Friday night by landing the star pitcher from Japan.

Jed Hoyer expresses his frustrations after the Cubs miss out on Roki Sasaki -- with Sasaki deciding to sign with the Dodgers.

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

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,

With ownership turmoil and no offseason additions, the Padres must figure out how to contend without the Japanese phenom they coveted.

The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching rotation is set to get a big lift. On Friday, coveted Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki announced he will play for the Dodgers. The 23-year-old took to Instagram to reveal that he is inking a minor-league contract with the organization.