Projected Los Angeles Dodgers dream rotation to win World Series with Roki Sasaki

Deep down, all MLB fans knew that this could happen. Roki Sasaki, a 23-year-old phenom pitcher out of Japan, was making the jump to the majors. The thing was, many teams would be after him, since he would only command a minor league contract. But since the start of the sweepstakes, the expectation was that the Dodgers were the favorites to sign Sasaki.

Sure enough, that became a reality on Friday. Sasaki took to Instagram to personally announce that he was signing a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The rich got richer. The Dodgers, fresh off a World Series win over the New York Yankees, have made it evident that they plan on contending for a long time. After all, they did sign Blake Snell at the start of the offseason on a five-year contract.

So, what does the Dodgers' dream rotation look like now with the Sasaki signing now official?

Dodgers dream rotation to win World Series with Roki Sasaki now official

The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches, as they have five pitchers that could very well be an ace on any other team in the league. So, who would get the No. 1 spot in the rotation.

The Dodgers did throw a 10-year, $700 million contract to Shohei Ohtani last winter, with the expectation that he'd be playing as a designated hitter and starting pitcher. Ohtani didn't pitch this past season due to an elbow injury in the 2023 season. If Ohtani is eventually cleared to pitch, expect him to be at the top of the rotation.

Considering the Dodgers handed a five-year, $182 million contract to Snell, he is going to be a top of the rotation guy for the team. Don't be surprised if he does hold the ace role in the rotation if Ohtani isn't cleared to throw.

Sitting at the No. 3 spot would be Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of their prized free agent signings last winter along with Ohtani. Yamamoto had high expectations, especially since the Dodgers signed him to a 12-year, $325 million contract, and pitched solidly in his first year in the majors. Yamamoto recorded a 3.00 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, a 7-2 win-loss record, and 105 strikeouts in 90.0 innings.

Tyler Glasnow was acquired by the Dodgers last offseason in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Glasnow was pitching well for Los Angeles until he suffered what turned out to be a season-ending elbow injury. Glasnow posted a 3.49 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 168 strikeouts over 134.0 innings.

With Sasaki now on board, he will slot in as a back-end of the rotation pitcher. Considering Sasaki is only 23 years old, there's a chance that he can develop into an even better pitcher. Plus, he gets to learn from his World Baseball Classic teammates in Ohtani and Yamamoto.

The Dodgers were already a problem on paper before. Now, with a stacked rotation, who can really stop them from winning a World Series in 2025?