A former front office executive has suggested that the Dodgers committed foul play in signing Roki Sasaki.
Minutes after the Japanese ace announced on Instagram that he would be joining the Dodgers next season, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden said in a chat on “Foul Territory” that there could be an investigation into the deal. He said he thought so.
“I think you'll find that there are multiple teams that will ask the commissioner's office to investigate this particular contract,” Bowden said in Foul Territory. “There were some front offices that believed there was a pre-agreement between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Loki Sasaki before this process began and before there was a period where players could be negotiated. Denied by the camp.”
Sasaki narrowed his long list down to three teams this week: the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays, before finally signing with Los Angeles on Friday.
In November, Mr. Sasaki's attorney, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman & Co., publicly denied claims that there was an unwritten agreement.
“Many executives who know me well and do a lot of business with me are insulting my integrity by implying that I would be part of some fraudulent arrangement. .” Wolff told The Athletic.“In reality, this is just a lack of sportsmanship.”
When asked about the allegations in November, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he did not believe there was a private transaction, but said his office would investigate the matter.
“But we'll see what happens there,” Manfred told The Athletic. “If you have reason to believe that any of our rules have been violated, please rest assured that we will thoroughly investigate and work to get to the bottom of it.”
During free agency, talk of Sasaki's sweepstakes eventually shifted from Los Angeles, with rumors that the phenom wanted to sign with a small-market team, Bolden explained.
“We were told that with his troubles, maybe a smaller market would make sense. [Sasaki] I was also talking to the media in Japan,” Borden said. “I heard that advocacy played a big role.”
Bowden went on to claim that nearly everyone in the MLB front office he spoke to believed Sasaki was “a done deal before the process even started.”
Sasaki made the announcement on Friday, with The Athletic reporting that he received a $6.5 million signing bonus.
He will join a staff that already includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, plus the return of Shohei Ohtani from injury.
