Roki Sasaki, the highly regarded Japanese pitching prospect who has had scouts coveting his potential since high school, announced Friday on Instagram that he has chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his major league team Three feet.

Sasaki called it "a very difficult decision, but when I look back on my baseball career, I will do my best to make it the right decision."

The Dodgers have long been viewed as Sasaki's favorites, most recently joining the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres as one of three finalists for the 23-year-old right-hander. The Padres began agreeing to terms with potential international signees from the Dominican Republic on Friday morning, a clear sign across the industry that they have moved on from Sasaki. As a result, the Blue Jays acquired $2 million worth of international bonus pool space, as well as center fielder Myles Straw, from the Cleveland Guardians in hopes of further enticing Sasaki.

In the end it doesn't matter. The Dodgers, led by fellow Japanese Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, won the World Series and once again claimed one of the biggest offseason awards.

With the Dodgers, Sasaki joins a team with a reputation for developing talent and is expected to have an incredibly deep rotation in 2025. Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return from last year's group. Ohtani will continue to serve as a two-way player. Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract in November. Clayton Kershaw is also expected to return at some point. Young players such as Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller are still on the team, making it easy for the Dodgers to field a six-man rotation, which will reduce Sasaki's adaptation process.

Since Sasaki is not yet 25 years old and has spent less than 6 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki will essentially sign a minor league contract and follow the path of players drafted in the amateur draft - able to be drafted Reaching the minor leagues, he was scheduled to make close to the major league minimum during his first three major league seasons and wouldn't be able to become a traditional free agent before serving six years.

At the beginning of the signing period, the team could only offer Sasaki an international bonus pool of approximately $5.1 million to $7.5 million.

Sasaki takes a mesmerizing splitter that's known as one of the best secondary pitches in the world and pairs it with a 100-mph fastball and adds a pitch that's also considered a plus slider. In four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki posted a 2.02 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 524 strikeouts, and 91 batters in 414 2/3 innings.

On April 10, 2022, Sasaki had a perfect game against the Orix Bisons while setting an NPB record with 13 consecutive strikeouts. Seven days later, he took the mound again and pitched eight perfect innings before being removed from the game. The following spring, Sasaki showcased his talents on the global stage, forming a star-studded rotation with Ohtani, Darvish, Shota Imonaga and Yamamoto to win the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan.

For years, major league scouts and executives came to Japan to catch a glimpse of Sasaki and salivate over the possibility that he might one day be drafted. When it finally happened in early December, more than 20 teams made the initial pitch through videos, letters and even books. Later that month, Sasaki flew to the Los Angeles headquarters of his agency, Wasserman, and held meetings with at least eight teams: Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.

Five of those teams were told to withdraw from the race earlier this week, prompting Sasaki to hold follow-up meetings in Toronto, San Diego and Los Angeles before making a decision.

Sasaki needs to choose his new team between January 15, when this year's international signing period begins, and January 23, when his release window expires. His emergence on the international amateur market has put the potential signings of three finalists in limbo in deals that were agreed verbally years in advance, causing particular consternation in the Dominican Republic. Not only would the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays need to free up their international bonus pools to acquire Sasaki's potential, but they would also need to consider the possibility of trading for the extra space in hopes of luring him further.

Sasaki starred in the famous Japanese high school league "Summer Koshien" and was selected with the first overall pick in the 2019 NPB draft. The Lotte Marines were cautious with him, limiting him to bullpen sessions and simulated games in 2020 and limiting his workload as much as possible thereafter. Sasaki's numbers dropped last year, with his ERA rising to 2.35. His four-seam fastball average increased from about 98 mph to 96 mph. At one point, shoulder fatigue cropped up. There are concerns about how Sasaki will handle the major league workload, with many admitting his command needs improvement.

But few doubt his ceiling.

Several prominent evaluators believe Sasaki could become an annual Cy Young Award contender in the next few years.