Los Angeles Dodgers dream rotation after signing Blake Snell: Is Sasaki next?

The Los Angeles Dodgers landed the first big fish of the 2024-25 free agency period, signing Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract. It was the worst-case outcome for 29 MLB franchises, with the reigning World Series champs addressing their one relative weakness by adding arguably the best pitcher in baseball.

Snell, 32, has a couple Cy Young awards under his belt. Last season was a bit of a struggle, as Snell didn't sign with the San Francisco Giants until late in the spring. He dealt with rust and injuries out of the gate, but posted a 1.23 ERA across 14 starts from July onward. Over the second half of the campaign, there was not a single pitcher operating at Snell's level.

One would expect the hard-throwing southpaw to start for the Dodgers on Opening Day, but even after dropping close to $37 million annually on their new ace, Los Angeles isn't done prowling the free agent market. Their deferred money strategy opens up a ton of flexibility a team in LA's position wouldn't normally have. It also helps that Dodgers ownership is so willing to foot the bill for a contender. Most teams just wouldn't push it far enough for the deferred money to matter.

In addition to Snell, the Dodgers have been connected to names like Corbin Burnes, Garrett Crochet, and Roki Sasaki. Here's a "dream" rotation that is still very much within reach for Brandon Gomes and the front office.

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Los Angeles Dodgers dream rotation includes Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki,

Clayton Kershaw has expressed his desire to pitch again in 2025. It's hard to fathom that happening anywhere other than Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Roki Sasaki is the most sought-after free agent pitcher left on the market. The 23-year-old will sign as an international amateur, meaning his salary for next season can't balloon past $7 million. The Dodgers would need to coax him to LA on promises of contending and a strong player development program.

There have been mixed signals as to Sasaki's desire to play in LA. It once felt like a done deal, but recent reporting has suggested that Sasaki might not want to pitch in the shadow of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who would soak up endorsement opportunities back home.

Normally the Dodgers can just spend their way into contention for a free agent, but Sasaki is a unique case. This is absolutely still the dream, though, and Sasaki would bring electric stuff to the back end of the Dodgers rotation. There are concerns about his durability, which means he could have a restricted workload out of the gate, but the Dodgers would have six solid starters in this scenario. Glasnow, Ohtani, and Kershaw carry injury concerns, too, but depth would play in LA's favor. Bobby Miller is kicking around the farm system right now and the Dodgers aren't short on other stopgap options, like Dustin May.

Sasaki is widely viewed as the best pitching prospect in the world, capable of touching triple-digits with his fastball and eviscerating hitters with a low-90s splitter. He offers a potent blend of velocity and location control, mixed with a third pitch — his slider — that is steadily coming along as a viable part of his arsenal.

If the Dodgers can bring Sasaki along slowly and keep his innings under control as a rookie, the results ought to follow. He already has the stuff to dominate MLB offenses, but Los Angeles can afford to weather any and all bumps in the road. This is a great situation for Sasaki individually if he's not too worried about the endorsements side of things.

This rotation ranks as quite possibly the best in baseball. We already know what the Dodgers' offense is capable of.