Ohtani reportedly played a huge role in the Dodgers' recruitment of Sasaki, the 23-year-old pitching phenom, who posted a 29-15 record and 2.10 ERA in 64 appearances in the Nippon Professional Baseball. Ohtani also recently revealed his message was to Sasaki just before the latter picked the Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani broke the news to the Los Angeles Dodgers that prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was joining the team.