Roki Sasaki joins the Dodgers, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto playing a "key" role in bringing the star Japanese pitcher to LA's stacked roster.

It was an impressive, albeit mixed rookie season for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Japanese phenom looked impressive during his first campaign in the Majors, however, a strained right rotator cuff limited him to only 90 innings of work.

Japanese star Roki Sasaki is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers following a frenzied Major League Baseball battle for the coveted pitcher’s signature. The 23-year-old confirmed on Friday that he would join up with compatriots and Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a brief statement on Instagram.

Following the World Series triumph in October last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers upgraded the rotation by signing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell in the offseason.

Japanese star Roki Sasaki signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced on Instagram. The 23-year-old right-hander with a sizzling fastball and deadly splitter joins Samurai Japan teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the World Series champion Dodgers. The jokes wrote themselves.