Roki Sasaki choosing the Dodgers comes with huge silver lining for Alex Anthopoulos, Braves

Roki Sasaki signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers broke the baseball world, albeit momentarily. It's tough to blame Andrew Friedman and Co. for taking advantage of the current free agency climate. While the vast majority of team owners are unwilling to spend to their greatest capacity, the Dodgers are not one of those teams, and it shows. Free agents and looming trade targets all see the culture Los Angeles has built, including Sasaki.

However, while the Dodgers have built one of the best rosters I've ever seen, World Series aren't won on paper. Just ask Friedman, as Los Angeles is loading up in hopes of covering roster holes they may face if certain players go down with injury, or don't perform up to par. The best roster doesn't always win the World Series, and anything can happen in October.

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Roki Sasaki's decision could be blessing in disguise for the Braves

Despite an overwhelming lack of action on their end this winter, the Atlanta Braves are still set up well to contend in 2025 if they make the right moves prior to spring training. This could include bringing in another top-of-the-rotation arm and an outfielder. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider are set to return from injury at some point this season, and that means the Braves are a force to be reckoned with in the NL East.

One of the finalists for Sasaki was reportedly the San Diego Padres. The Padres are a mess from the top-down as of this writing as the Seidler family fights for control of his assets, which includes the team. It's unclear if any of Seidler's children or remaining stakeholders in the Padres will spend like Peter Seidler did when he was in charge, which means some of their best players could very well be up for grabs, Dylan Cease among them.

Cease was floated in trade rumors last winter as well. He's entering the final year of his contract, so if AJ Preller and Co. plan on dealing him, the time to do so is now. This offseason is when they'll get the most for him, as a full season of Cease is more valuable than two months and a postseason run of Cease.

As Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote just a few days ago, "given the need for starting pitching around the league, the Padres would likely be open to trading Cease if they can find a team willing to part with controllable players and/or prospects."

This is where the Braves come in. They have been connected to Cease in the past, and while their farm system isn't the strongest, they can certainly put together a competitive package for the talented right-hander if he's available. Thus far, they have some competition as the Twins have shown interest in the 29-year-old as well.

Cease is a Georgia native and by most accounts would be a natural fit in the rotation. Anthopoulos ought to be on the phone as we speak, but predicting his next move is useless – there's a reason he's one of the more mysterious general managers in the game.