Dave Roberts' pitching plan for opening series might turn all of Japan Dodger blue

Japan has played no small part in the Los Angeles Dodgers' path toward building MLB's preeminent superteam. Handing $700 million to Shohei Ohtani sure helped to open the floodgates, but the team also put in years of behind-the-scenes scouting and effort, work that paid off in a big way when the country's two preeminent talents — Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2023 and Roki Sasaki this winter — decided to make the jump to the States.

Yamamoto and Sasaki were no outliers. The Japan-to-America pipeline figures to only grow: The best slugger in NPB, third baseman Munetaka Murakami, has already announced his desire to be posted to the Majors next winter. And as if beautiful weather, the largest Japanese population outside of Japan and a loaded roster weren't a competitive advantage enough, Dave Roberts made clear on Wednesday that Los Angeles wants to make sure no one from the country will even think about playing anywhere else.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Dodgers set to show off Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto during opening Japan Series

As luck would have it, the Dodgers open the 2025 regular season ... in Japan, with two games against the Chicago Cubs on March 18 and 19. That provides the team with one heck of a recruiting opportunity, and L.A. is determined to make the most of it: According to Roberts, both Yamamoto and Sasaki will pitch against Chicago in front of their home country.

Not doing so would be borderline malpractice. Both because it's the right thing to do for the players themselves, and because there's no better statement to make to any Japanese players who might be weighing their MLB options in the future. If you're trying to decide where you'd like to continue your career in the States, how could you say no to the team that's showcasing two of your country's heroes in front of soldout crowds — many of whom will likely already be wearing Dodgers hats or Ohtani jerseys?

Other teams are committing their own resources to building relationships and a presence in Japan, and surely the Dodgers won't sign every big name. But right now, it's hard to see how they won't have their pick.