Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ recent signing of young Japanese phenom Rōki Sasaki has been a sensitive topic across Major League Baseball, with a prominent rift between analysts and fans alike.
However, it is former Major League Baseball General Manager Jim Bowden, who is currently a writer for the Athletic, who made some egregious and borderline inappropriate comments about Sasaki and his recent agreement with the Dodgers.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to add despite coming off their second World Series Championship in five seasons (2020,2024), many around the league are upset at this deal with Sasaki above all others.
The Dodgers’ interest in Japanese stars has been high for several years, especially during the Andrew Friedman era. Over the last decade, the Dodgers have shown high interest in multiple Japanese players such as Kenta Maeda, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and most recently, Rōki Sasaki.
Sasaki has been on the Dodgers’ minds for years, and their plans to pursue the young righty grew even higher when he was placed on the world stage during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, helping Team Japan win the tournament over the United States.
So what’s the big deal with the Dodgers signing Sasaki? For starters, many fans around the league are upset that Sasaki wanted to come to Major League Baseball early, leaving him claimed as an amateur free agent signing for pennies on the dollar compared to what he would’ve gotten on the open market.
Secondly, the reports of supposed “handshake” agreements with the Dodgers and Sasaki loomed large over multiple baseball executives, media members, and fans.
Given those accusations, those assumptions look even more realistic when the team ends up signing the player for millions of dollars less than what the other two finalists were willing to offer.
That is where Jim Bowden’s comments come in. Bowden, a former General Manager from 1993 until 2004 and current writer for the Athletic made some significant remarks on Sasaki’s deal with the Dodgers on the latest episode of Foul Territory.
“I think you’re gonna find that there is gonna be multiple teams that are going to ask the commissioner’s office to investigate this particular signing,” Bowden said on Foul Territory. “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. This was, of course, denied by his camp.”
In November, Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, publicly denied any claims of an unwritten agreement.
“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,” Wolfe told The Athletic, “in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship.”
When asked about these allegations in November, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that he did not believe there was any private deal, but he mentioned that his office would look into the matter.
Bowden’s remarks are not only ignorant of Sasaki, his agent Joel Wolfe, the Wasserman Media Group, and the Dodgers themselves, but they’re also wrong.
Prior to Sasaki’s posting, Major League Baseball did its own investigation on these claims of a possible handshake agreement, and according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, they found no evidence of wrongdoing:
According to a league official, MLB conducted an investigation prior to authorizing Sasaki’s posting to “ensure the protocol agreement had been followed.” Another person with knowledge of the situation, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said the league interviewed “numerous parties” in its probe, but found no evidence to substantiate the rumors.
While that answer will not satisfy critics, it should show Bowden and other writers and executives that the league did its due diligence and found the Dodgers to be in the clear.
Perhaps Bowden is upset that, like many of his predictions over the years, he was wrong about Sasaki’s future. He stated that a deal between the Dodgers and Sasaki was not a forgone conclusion and that teams like the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, or even a small market team had a higher percentage chance of reaching an agreement.
Bowden stated that the idea of Sasaki playing in Los Angeles would not make sense as he’d be playing behind Ohtani and Yamamoto’s shadow and limit himself in potential offfield endorsement money. It was as if the idea of marketing all three together had not crossed his mind.
Stated that the Padres have the x-factor in 38-year-old veteran Yu Darvish, who was like a parental figure to Sasaki, or that the Yankees signing Masahiro Tanaka more than ten years ago would help sway Sasaki’s decision to go east.
Bowden’s entire thought process on Saski was not based in reality, and while I respect him for going against the grain, the comments to help stir the pot among fans and the media will not help.
It’s also ironic that a former General manager was forced to resign after Bowden and his front office were federally investigated for potentially skimming money allotted for signing international prospects, but hey, that’s just me.
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