There's not much question that while Major League Baseball remains the most prestigious and competitive league in the world, several other international professional leagues have closed the gap. In light of this,

As the MLB offseason continues, the newest member of the Dodgers, Roki Sasaki, comes in at number 1 on the ESPN top 100 prospect list.

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes have ended, but it's interesting to learn what went on behind the scenes throughout the free agency saga for Japanese sensation.

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, choosing the defending World Series champions over the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, among other teams who showed interest in obtaining his services.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have Roki Sasaki, but a new Japanese player named Munetaka Murakami is now getting attention.

The Los Angeles Dodgers landed Roki Sasaki, and there are inevitably some who want to spoil the story. Less than an hour after Sasaki announced he was joining t

Major League Baseball conducted an investigation into the Chiba Lotte Marines prior to authorizing Roki Sasaki's posting. Read more at MLBTR.

Teams were eliminated by Sasaki until it was down to three finalists: the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. Sasaki opted to follow in the footsteps of Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez, Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim this offseason and choose the Dodgers above other offers.

MLB didn't fully prove the Sasaki deal was above board, it just found no evidence behind the rumors of impropriety. However, it's not like the Dodgers had to sell Sasaki on them in private, either. The reason L.A. was always presented as the favorite was the team just made sense.