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.

The Los Angeles Dodgers saw Shohei Ohtani win MVP without throwing a single pitch last season. He is expected to return and manager Dave Roberts gave an update on his recovery.