Report: MLB investigated Sasaki before posting, found no illegal deals

Major League Baseball was closely monitoring Roki Sasaki's posting process.

Before he was officially posted in December, the league conducted an investigation to confirm that Sasaki didn't have any pre-existing handshake agreements with any MLB clubs, which would circumvent the international free-agent signing rules, a league official told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Sasaki announced Friday that he's signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He chose the reigning champions over two other finalists, the San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays, after drawing interest from over 20 teams. However, his decision - while expected in many parts - sparked questions about whether the Dodgers always had the upper hand.

Former big-league general manager Jim Bowden told Foul Territory that multiple clubs believed Sasaki had an under-the-table agreement with the Dodgers before his posting period began. In November, former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, a teammate of Sasaki's with NPB's Chiba Lotte Marines this past season, said he heard "rumblings" of the same nature.

Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, denied his client had any kind of verbal contract with the Dodgers earlier in the offseason.

After conducting interviews with "numerous parties," MLB ultimately found no evidence of an illegal agreement, a source told Harris, who added that Sasaki's official posting was only approved after the investigation was completed.

Because he elected to jump to MLB before turning 25, Sasaki was considered an international free agent. His earnings are therefore capped under international bonus pool rules, so he'll reportedly receive a $6.5 million signing bonus.

Sasaki put up a 2.02 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over four seasons with the Marines in Japan's top professional league. The 23-year-old threw a perfect game with 19 strikeouts in 2022.