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The Dodgers would've tried to move heaven and earth for Roki Sasaki if that's what it would've taken to sign him. Despite a lot of tinfoil hat conspiracies that Sasaki had a handshake deal with the Dodgers dating back years, it's pretty clear that the Dodgers front office had no idea how things were going to shake out and were beyond relieved when they went LA's way.
Both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto got a ton of perks built into their contracts, but Sasaki, who signed a minor league deal that technically doesn't include a guarantee him a spot on the major league roster (even though we all know he'll get one), won't have those same amenities. He did, however, make one ask of the organization: that he wear No. 11 with the Dodgers.
No. 11 had been worn by Miguel Rojas from 2023 through 2024 with the Dodgers, and Rojas seemed happy to give it up to Sasaki and go back to No. 72, which he wore when he debuted with the Dodgers in 2014.
He told Chris Rose on the "Chris Rose Rotation" that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had texted him asking to get on a call, then left Rojas on read for an hour or two, leading him to believe that he was definitely getting traded.
Miguel Rojas thought the Dodgers were trading him when they called him to ask if he could change his number for Roki Sasaki
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 4, 2025
“I almost pooped my pants” pic.twitter.com/cbcyAdMlZq
Miguel Rojas thought Dodgers were going to trade him ahead of Roki Sasaki signing
Rojas said he received a late-night text from Friedman and "almost pooped [his] pants" because he thought he was getting DFA'ed or traded. Friedman then left him on read before calling him up and asking him to give up No. 11.
"Andrew, you should've just texted me. [...] Bro, that's not even a question. As long as we're getting better, as long as this guy feels like I'm doing something for him to sign," Rojas said.
Sasaki wore No. 17 with the Marines, just one off from the Japanese "ace number" 18 that Yamamoto is currently wearing with the Dodgers, and 17 is obviously taken by Ohtani. Who knows why Sasaki wanted 11? It's just nice that Rojas was such a good sport about letting it go.
Rojas had, by far, the best season of his career wearing No. 11 in 2024 (3.4 fWAR, up from a previous career-high 2.6), so hopefully he'll pass along those good vibes to Sasaki as well.