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.

For some teams in Major League Baseball, the chase for Roki Sasaki could not be measured in mere months. It lasted for years. One of those teams, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, concluded that pursuit on Friday night by landing the star pitcher from Japan.

Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodger

Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he announced on his Instagram page Friday evening. The highly coveted 23-year-old right-hander joins the Dodgers after a stellar four-year stint with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The addition of Sasaki only increases the urgency for the Dodgers to do better in preventing pitching injuries.

The right-hander was one of the most sought after international free agents in recent memory, but the Dodgers won the race to land the coveted pitcher's services.