Have you ever seen the television show ‘Breaking Bad?’ It was that one show with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul from back in the day, where the two main characters were “chefs” who drove around in a camper. Well for those of you who don’t know, Paul (who plays Jesse in the program) had a very well-known line in one of the episodes. That line (which I’m paraphrasing) is;

“THEY CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!!!”

Why do I bring this up, you may ask? Well……

The Dodgers have met with Roki Sasaki, per @billplunkettocr pic.twitter.com/OxxLw8Bxrp

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 29, 2024

It’s because the Los Angeles Dodgers are (reportedly) in the process of adding another high-quality arm to their already STACKED roster. It looks like Brandon Gomes and co., like everyone else in Major League Baseball, are doing their due-diligence when it comes to trying to acquire 23-year old Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki, for those of you who are unaware, has pitched for four years overseas in the JPPL. In his tenure in Japan (all with Chiba Lotte), Sasaki was able to post a VERY IMPRESSIVE stat-line of;

414.2 IP, 30-15 Record, 2.02 ERA, 11.4 SO/9, .883 WHIP

He is a higher-end pitcher on a majority of the scouting reports out there, with his metrics showing that he can be a “top-end” pitcher in the bigs. Sure, that’s an easy thing to say right off the jump, before the guy even steps foot on a mound. But with everything we’ve seen from him in Japan……it looks like he CERTAINLY has what it takes to be “the guy.”

Now to some (mostly people IN LA), the Dodgers talking to the Japanese superstar can be seen as a “huge development.” The fact that the defending champions are trying to court him this winter, with the help of fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, can almost be seen as a “slam dunk” to most.

But to the rest of the United States….this is just an awful news story. No one outside of California wants to see Sasaki and the Dodgers mentioned in the same tweet…..let alone the same BREATH. It’s the EPITOME of the “rich getting richer.” If anything, you could say that the Dodgers are basically a snot-nosed seven year old playing a video game on EASY with all of the sliders turned up. (If that makes sense?)

Nobody wants that! With how strong this team is already, Sasaki’s probably not going to be the “top guy” off the bat anyway. With Yamamoto, Snell, and the returning Ohtani near the top…..Sasaki will probably settle around the 4th or 5th spot to start the year. And that’s not a knock on him; he’s just brand new to the league, and the rotation is already stacked.

It’s an ABSURD thing to think about, but to be honest…..I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens. I wouldn’t be surprised if Roki decides to join Dave Roberts’ merry band of winners. If the money’s right…..it’s the perfect spot for him. (Even though I hate to say it).

Hopefully I’m wrong, and he decides to go somewhere else. (Like to my Chicago Cubs.) But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.