Roki Sasaki Told Dodgers Having Japanese-Style Toilets Would Help Contract Decision

The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't been frugal when it comes to spending money to get talent, but the team took a unique approach to help land Rōki Sasaki this offseason.

Per the Orange County Register's Bill Blunkett, team president and CEO Stan Kasten added Japanese-style toilets to the Dodgers' clubhouse amid a $100 million renovation because Sasaki said having such features could sway his decision of where to sign.

“During our first meeting with Roki, we were telling him about the project we had ongoing to upgrade our clubhouse and facilities,” Kasten said. “I was telling him about all the amenities we were adding. ‘We’re going to have this and this and this.’ And he asked, ‘Are you going to have Japanese-style toilets?’”

Sasaki said after the fact that he was partially joking with Kasten, but having Japanese-style toilets was a preference. He also said Los Angeles' willingness to make the change just to make players more comfortable “was definitely a factor."

“It sounds like a joke. But for me, it’s pretty important,” Sasaki said through an interpreter.

When Sasaki said he wanted Japanese-style toilets, Kasten didn't hesitate to make the change.

“Done. You got it,” Kasten said he told Sasaki at the meeting. “It was a good idea that we got from a player.”

How much of a factor the Japanese-style toilets influenced Sasaki is unclear, but it clearly made some kind of an impact as he ended up signing with the Dodgers in January.