Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that was always predicted to sign him, following months of rumours and a process in which 20 of the 30 MLB teams tried to entice him. However, others have questioned whether the Sasaki sweepstakes competition was manipulated from the beginning.Executives from “multiple” teams reportedly voiced suspicions that Sasaki and the Dodgers had a pre-existing contract, and they intended to request that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred launch an investigation into the process that resulted in the 23-year-old fireballer joining the already-heavy Los Angeles rotation, according to Jim Bowden, the former general manager of the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds.
“There were several front offices that believed there was a pre-cut deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Roki Sasaki before this process started and before the window came where you’re allowed to negotiate with the player,” Bowden stated on the podcast Foul Territory on Friday. “This was, of course, denied by his camp.” Bowden went on to say that all of the MLB executives he had spoken to thought Sasaki’s move to the Dodgers was inevitable and a “done deal before the process started.” According to a report by Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the suspicions had existed at least since November, before Sasaki was even listed, meaning that he was made available for signing by MLB teams. Manfred stated at the time that MLB will respond to any inquiries about Respond to inquiries regarding the Sasaki signing campaign. “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,” Manfred stated to The Athletic.
However, the MLB office claims to have previously looked at the matter. A report on Saturday by The Los Angeles Times indicated that the league office’s investigation found there was nothing improper about the Dodgers’ Sasaki signing. “According to a league official, MLB conducted an investigation prior to authorizing Sasaki’s posting to ‘ensure the protocol agreement had been followed,'” the New York Times reported. Another individual with information about the matter, who was not permitted to talk in public, claimed that the league spoke with ‘many parties’.
in its investigation, but discovered no proof to support the rumours.” However, the claimed MLB probe simply found no evidence that the Sasaki signing was the result of a prearranged contract, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Jack Baer. But it didn’t completely rule it out. It’s not like the Dodgers had to sell Sasaki to them in private, either,” Bear continued. It just made logical for L.A. to be the side that was consistently portrayed as the favourite. Joel Wolfe, Sasaki’s agent, has vehemently claimed that the young fireballer’s hunt for an MLB home was improper.
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