Roki Sasaki's Agent Slams Reports That Star Pitcher Has Deal With Dodgers
The rumors are flying regarding Japaneses free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki leading some front-office executives to bring them to light.
Some officials believe Sasaki may have an informal agreement in place to join the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That couldn't be further from the truth according to Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman.
More news: Dodgers Sign Another Pitcher as LA Continues to Bolster Staff
Executives have casually shared some of these rumors with the commissioner’s office, and Dodgers executives are also aware of them, according to The Athletic.
Wolfe denied the allegation on Wednesday.
“While a bunch of executives who should know me better and do a lot of business with me insult my integrity by insinuating that I would be a part of some type of nefarious agreement,” Wolfe told The Athletic, “in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship.”
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred also squashed the rumor when asked about it directly at league headquarters in New York City.
“In my media training, they told me never to answer questions that involve suspicions, so I could pass all together,” Manfred said when asked about the money the Dodgers had preserved in their 2024 pool. “Just one clarification. It kind of looks like the way it’s going to shake out, the signing there — just because of the timing — will happen in the new pool period. So that’s kind of a significant fact.
“But you know, we’re going to see what happens there. If there’s any reason to believe that there was a violation of one of our rules, you can rest assured that we will thoroughly investigate and try to get to the bottom of it.”
In March, the league prohibited "working agreements" between MLB teams and the four officially recognized foreign leagues: the premier circuits in China, Korea, Japan, and Mexico.
There are no confirmed reports of the Dodgers breaking any rules in their pursuit of Sasaki, though speculation has continued. Dallas Keuchel, a former Cy Young Award winner and Sasaki's teammate with Chiba Lotte this year, told the New York Post earlier this month, "I heard some rumblings about a done deal with the Dodgers — you know, having a plan for him."
“There are certain things — exchange of information, whatever — that (were) perfectly allowable,” Manfred said Wednesday. “The concern with those agreements comes when, for example, the American club has some priority access to players that are under control because it would allow them to expand the number of players they have under control. And we’ve always been scrupulous about not allowing those.”