Buyer beware: Maybe teams actually dodged a bullet letting the Dodgers sign Roki Sasaki

The Los Angeles Dodgers' offseason has essentially amounted to Brandon Gomes and the front office running laps around the competition, toasting to their own talent monopoly as 29 other teams (and fanbases) cry foul.

Signing Blake Snell to fill their pitching need was one thing. Subsequently signing Roki Sasaki, Teoscar Hernandez, and Tanner Scott was a bridge too far for most folks. It just does not seem fair.

It is fair — Los Angeles does outclass the rest of the league, top to bottom, to be quite frank. But just know teams with lesser financial resources, or less committed ownership groups, are peeved. A lot of this anger borders on jealousy, because most fans want to root for the team with unlimited spending power, and most organizations wish they were brave enough to commit so thoroughly to the pursuit of on-field excellence.

The Sasaki signing was the breaking point for a lot of folks. At 23 years old, the Japanese phenom wasn't even eligible for a major nine-figure contract. His free agency decision was rooted entirely in organizational merit, and he did a great job of making the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays feel like they had a legitimate shot.

In the end, though, Sasaki would up in LA, alongside fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, where he can anchor the deepest, most talent-rich rotation in baseball.

Nothing can stop the Dodgers. At least, it feels that way. Beneath the surface, however, there is at least a reason for mild trepedation about Sasaki's MLB future.

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Roki Sasaki's injury history could haunt Dodgers down the line

Sasaki is widely considered the best pitching "prospect" in the world, but it comes with a catch. The right-handed phenom has a track record of elbow injuries, which has limited his availability in the past. At 18, he suffered a strained muscle in his right arm. One doctor recommended Tommy John surgery.

In the end, Sasaki opted against the surgery and the potentially career-altering implications of such a drastic measure. That said, those health concerns now follow him stateside. As he told the Los Angeles Times, nothing is guaranteed, which is why he chose to sign an MLB contract now, rather than waiting two years and becoming eligible for a nine-figure payday in the Yamamoto vein.

"You hear many voices that say I should have waited two more years [to come to the United States], but there are of course no guarantees about my condition in those two years." (h/t Dodgers Nation)

Los Angeles is uniquely equipped to suffer this risk, especially with Sasaki on the books for less than $7 million annually, but this is a (very small) consolation to those front offices who whiffed on the preternaturally gifted and notoriously hard-working fireballer.

The Padres or Blue Jays, for example, would be depending on Sasaki to develop into a front-line ace and lead their rotations for the next decade. A future elbow injury, not to mention a broader failure to live up to expectations, would have been catastrophic.

Hopefully Sasaki can put 15-plus healthy seasons under his belt. He's a special talent and we're lucky to watch him, even if he's contributing to the Dodgers' buzzsaw. That said, elbow injuries are no joke. Sasaki does have one mild red flag.