3 Dodgers who won't be back if Los Angeles lands Japanese ace Roki Sasaki

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki appears to be headed to MLB. It was announced early Saturday morning that he would be posted by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, and once the move is made official he will have 45 days to sign with any of the 30 big-league teams.

This news is a bit surprising: Given that Sasaki is under 25 years of age, he's only able to sign a Minor League deal with a signing bonus, much like what Shohei Ohtani did when he made the transition to MLB. He will not be able to make anything close to the $325 million that fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto did last offseason.

Considering his cheap price tag, all 30 teams will presumably show some level of interest. Since Sasaki gets to hand-pick where he goes, though, there's every reason to believe he'll end up with the Los Angeles Dodgers and get to play with Ohtani and Yamamoto. It's far from a done deal, but the Dodgers are considered clearcut favorites.

Assuming that the Dodgers get him, that could have a ripple effect on the rest of the roster. If they land Sasaki, these three players might not be back in 2025.

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3) The Dodgers might look to trade Dustin May while they can

The Dodgers won the World Series despite dealing with a slew of starting pitcher injuries. One pitcher who missed substantial time was Dustin May, who was out for the entire season due to flexor tendon surgery and a separate procedure to repair his esophagus. This season was an unfortunate one for May, a big-time arm who has not been able to stay healthy over the course of his career.

Despite being called up for the first time in 2019, May has never made more than 14 appearances in a single season. He has also never made more than 10 starts or thrown more than 56 innings in a single season. He has a ton of talent, as evidenced by his career 3.10 ERA in 46 MLB appearances (34 starts), but again, those appearances have been spread out for over a half-decade now.

The 27-year-old is about to enter his final year of arbitration, meaning that the 2025 season is his last one under club control. This is the Dodgers' last chance to get value out of May. Assuming Sasaki joins the mix, there might not even be room for him in their rotation with guys like Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Tony Gonsolin (to name a few) expected to return from their injuries next year.

What May's value on the trade market would be is unknown, but there's enough talent there to ensure that the Dodgers would get something of import in return. With it being very possible that 2025 is May's last season in Los Angeles even if he isn't traded, the Dodgers would be wise to see what kind of return he'd bring.

2) The Dodgers have enough depth to allow Walker Buehler to walk in free agency

The Dodgers might not have won the World Series without Buehler, and it's tough to say a team can have too much pitching depth — especially after everything that Los Angeles dealt with this past season. Still, if the Dodgers do sign Sasaki, they might have too many bodies in the rotation to bring Buehler back.

Sasaki will join Yamamoto, Ohtani, Glasnow, Gonsolin, May and Bobby Miller in competition for a rotation spot, and that's just among players who are currently on the roster. Clayton Kershaw will likely be re-signed. The Dodgers are in on Garrett Crochet. They'll be in on other free agents and trade targets. They can bring Buehler back, but letting him go elsewhere with his last Dodger memory being recording the final out of the World Series might make more sense.

He was excellent in the postseason for all but one inning against the San Diego Padres and certainly helped rebuild his value in the process, but his regular season numbers left a lot to be desired. He had a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts and 75.1 innings over the regular season. His advanced metrics were not very good, and his fastball velocity was as low as it had ever been.

Combining those factors with his injury history and the depth that the Dodgers already have, it's tough to see the Dodgers bringing him back if Sasaki comes aboard. If they really wanted him back, the qualifying offer could've been presented to him to keep him around for another year. The fact that they didn't extend that shows that they're open to his departure, as much as it might sting.

1) The Dodgers will prioritize other big signings before Jack Flaherty

The Dodgers' biggest move at the trade deadline saw them acquire Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers. The trade proved to be an extremely useful one, as the Dodgers desperately needed healthy starting pitchers in October, but Flaherty's inconsistency cannot be ignored.

The right-hander had a 3.58 ERA in 10 regular season starts with the Dodgers (up from 2.95 in 18 starts with the Tigers). He then had two very good postseason starts and three pretty poor ones. He did start the World Series clincher, but also managed to record just four outs. He showed his tremendous upside in October, but again, the inconsistency was jarring, to say the least.

Keeping Flaherty around would be a nice luxury for the Dodgers, but chances are, he's going to look to cash in on the open market. If he's willing to take a hometown discount it's worth discussing, but with many better options out there and the Dodgers already having a ton of depth, it's hard to envision them spending what it'll take on Flaherty. Sasaki's presence would make it a lot easier to let him walk.