Roki Sasaki, a Japanese pitching phenom, eventually signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that was always expected to sign him, after months of speculation and a process in which 20 of the 30 MLB teams attempted to attract him. Others have questioned whether the Sasaki sweepstakes competition was rigged from the start.According to Jim Bowden, the former general manager of the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, executives from “multiple” teams suspected Sasaki and the Dodgers had a pre-existing contract and planned 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.
Roki Sasaki, a Japanese pitching phenom, eventually signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that was always expected to sign him, after months of speculation and a process in which 20 of the 30 MLB teams attempted to attract him. Others have questioned whether the Sasaki sweepstakes competition was rigged from the start.
According to Jim Bowden, former general manager of the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, executives from “multiple” teams suspected Sasaki and the Dodgers had a pre-existing contract and wanted MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to investigate the process that resulted in the 23-year-old joining the already-heavy Los Angeles rotation. However, the investigation found no evidence to support the claim.” According to Yahoo! Sports’ Jack Baer, the alleged MLB investigation found no proof that Sasaki’s signing was the result of a planned contract.
However, it did not fully rule it out. “It’s not like the Dodgers had to sell Sasaki to them in private,” Bear added. It only made sense for Los Angeles to be the team that was continuously touted as the favourite. Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, has fiercely asserted that the young fireballer’s search for an MLB home was unlawful.
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