Roki Sasaki’s agent fires back at Dodgers rumors

Mar 20, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Japan starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (14) delivers a pitch during the first inning against Mexico at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The agent for Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki fired back at rumors suggesting his client already has a handshake agreement in place with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Speculation within MLB is that Sasaki and the Dodgers already have some sort of informal agreement for him to sign there once the next international free agency period opens, to the point that teams have raised the issue with the office of commissioner Rob Manfred, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The speculation reached the point that Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, vehemently denied the claims.

“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, in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship,” Wolfe told The Athletic.

Sasaki is not expected to officially sign with a team until after Jan. 15 of next year. At that point, each team’s international bonus money will refresh itself, theoretically giving more teams the opportunity to get involved in the Sasaki market. That has not stopped the Dodgers rumors, and Sasaki has been linked with the team ever since it was revealed that he would be posted this offseason.

In spite of that, there has been some pushback suggesting that the Dodgers may not even be the favorites to sign Sasaki.

The 23-year-old right hander is regarded as one of the best pitching prospects ever to come out of Japan. He has a 2.10 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings over four total NPB seasons.