Dodgers News: Roki Sasaki's Agent Opens Up on Entire Free Agency Process

Although Roki Sasaki seemed destined for the Los Angeles Dodgers from the beginning, his agent Joel Wolfe believed the Japanese phenom could have easily wound up joining another team.

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When Sasaki announced he would be signing with the Dodgers via Instagram, there were some critics who brought up dispelled rumors about an unwritten agreement between both parties.

However, in MLB's investigation regarding the situation, the league found no wrongdoing. Wolfe spoke about the challenges he faced as Sasaki's agent throughout his posting process.

“It’s always been an issue,” Wolfe told The Athletic. “I’ve tried to be an open book and as transparent as possible with all the teams in the league. I answer every phone call. I answer every question. This goes back to before the process even started. Every team I think would tell you that I told each one of them where they stood throughout the entire process, why they got a meeting, why they didn’t get a meeting, why other teams got a meeting. I tried to do my best to do that. He was only going to be able to pick one.”

Though many baseball fans were angry about Sasaki's decision, Wolfe heaped high praise for the other two final teams in the sweepstakes, the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres.

“I felt like he could easily go to Toronto,” Wolfe said. “When we left San Diego, I felt like he could easily choose San Diego. When he came here, I really thought the entire process was a coin flip.”

Wolfe did note the Dodgers always had the upperhand in terms of garnering talent from Japan.

“The Dodgers do have a home-field advantage in Japan,” he said.

Dodgers owner Stan Kasten defended the Los Angeles "superteam" at Sasaki's introductory press conference last week.

“So, obviously, it hasn’t damaged the game competitively,” Kasten said.

“And, on the entertainment side, which is what we are, it’s really good when there is one team beloved by their fans, who come out in record numbers, leading all of baseball in attendance, while that same team can be hated and lead baseball in road attendance. That’s a win-win for baseball.

“And this is also really contributing to the enhanced globalization of central baseball around the world. So it’s a win-win-win. This is really good for baseball. I have no question about it.”

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