Surprise!

On Friday, Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Roki Sasaki announced on Instagram that he would ply his trade for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025.

The news ended months of speculation over Sasaki's fate, during which the Dodgers were regarded as a favorite all along. It also reunites Sasaki with two of his teammates on Japan's World Baseball Classic-winning team of 2023—designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

This is thrilling news if you're a fan of Los Angeles, who can reasonably claim they're set up better than any defending World Series champion this century. If you're a fan of baseball's 29 other teams, not so much.

The jokes wrote themselves.

Dodgers fans reveled in another red-letter signing.

After all, Los Angeles sports has been short on good news this decade.

Opposing fans compared him to Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, whose 2016 move to the Golden State Warriors has become (fair or not) a byword for taking the easy way out in sports.

Many fans rolled their eyes at early reports that suggested Sasaki was willing to start out in a small market to develop his game.

Kudos to the pitcher and his representation for keeping fans guessing.

Baseball is a funny game and twists between now and October will be many, but it's clear at the moment that the 2025 World Series is the Dodgers' to lose.