Sasaki's agent shuts down rumors about Dodgers agreement

Wasserman's Joel Wolfe, who represents highly coveted Japanese star Roki Sasaki, said his client doesn't have a handshake deal in place to join the Los Angeles Dodgers when the right-hander is posted this winter.

"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 said Wednesday, according Evan Drellich of The Athletic. "In reality, this is just poor sportsmanship."

Wolfe's comments come in response to executives around baseball speculating Sasaki already has an agreement in place with the Dodgers, per Drellich.

Club officials raised concerns about the rumors to the commissioner's office, sources told Drellich, who adds Dodgers executives are aware of the gossip as well.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred already said he expects Sasaki to sign in January as part of 2025 international signing class and acknowledged the league would look into any deal consummated before the 23-year-old is officially posted.

"We're going to see what happens there," Manfred said. "If there's any reason to believe that there was a violation of one of our rules, you can rest assured that we will thoroughly investigate and try to get to the bottom of it."

Veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel, who was Sasaki's teammate with Japan's Chiba Lotte Marines for a few months in 2024, turned heads when he suggested an agreement with Los Angeles could already be in place.

"I heard some, some rumblings about a done deal with the Dodgers - you know, having a plan for him," Keuchel said, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "And if I was Vegas, I would definitely put them as the favorite, but I don't know. We never really talked about that."

Sasaki can't sign with an MLB team before before Jan. 15 if he's part of the 2025 class. He's only eligible to ink a minor-league contract with a signing bonus because he will be posted under the age of 25. The pitcher will also have a 45-day window to negotiate with all 30 clubs.