Everyone was excited to see Roki Sasaki throw at spring training for the Dodgers on Wednesday.
Sasaki threw his first live batting practice session since signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent from Japan. He got warmed up in the bullpen and then headed out to the mound to face some hitters at the Dodgers’ spring training site at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.
You can see a video of the 23-year-old pitcher delivering a pitch from the stretch.
Everyone wanted to get a glimpse of Sasaki facing some hitters. Take a look at the huge crowd he drew from those within the organization.
Sasaki gave up hits to Tommy Edman and David Bote but got a few strikeouts in two innings of work.
The Dodgers’ first spring training game will be on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs, though Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to start in that one.
The Dodgers and Cubs are operating on a different schedule from everyone else this spring. The two teams will open the season in Japan by playing games on March 18 and 19. After they play two games against each other, they will return to America and get set for their state-side openers along with several other teams on March 27.
Sasaki is the latest addition to the Dodgers. He signed a minor-league deal as an international amateur free agent and received a $6.5 million signing bonus. Much like Shohei Ohtani did when he left Japan to come to the U.S., Sasaki left a lot of money on the table by coming early in his career. But he wants to compete against the best in the world and is getting a head start on his MLB career. The Dodgers already having Japanese stars on their team helped convince Sasaki to choose them.
