Dodgers President Andrew Friedman Clears the Air on Gross Accusations of Tampering With Roki Sasaki’s Posting

When the 23-year-old prodigy Roki Sasaki leaped to MLB, everybody was buzzed with anticipation about which team the Japanese sensation would choose. Many speculations were built around various teams, though one team stood out, the Los Angeles Dodgers. It had to be the Dodgers since they have a history of building international talent, especially Japanese. However, when the deal took place there were rumors regarding the Dodgers using unfair means. The Dodgers president, Andrew Friedman has now come forward to address these false claims.

Friedman’s reply to the ‘accusations’ was filled with frustration at the baseless claims. Even though he acknowledges that the Dodgers were leading in the race to sign Roki, that doesn’t mean that there is any behind the curtains shady business involved in this. It was a combination of the team’s welcoming and warm culture with their player development philosophy. On top of that, players with the same nationality like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto made it quite easy for Roki to choose the reigning World Series champions. Friedman even disclosed the fact that they weren’t sure of landing Roki, considering the uncertainty that comes with players’ decisions, especially young prospects.

The accusations were because fanatics assumed that Roki’s decision was already made, even before he started to look out for probable destinations. The reason behind this assumption was the global stature of the Dodgers, one of the most coveted and decorated teams in MLB. However, what fanatics often ignore is the fact that these signings are based on different factors and not just limited to one. “oh, he’s going to go to the Dodgers,’ and then he went to the Dodgers, and like, see the fix is in,’” Friedman said, reflecting on the criticism.

He added, “The reason you thought he was going to come to the Dodgers were pretty compelling reasons, and he agreed and felt like we would be the best place to partner with our city, our fans, our ability to help make players better.” Ultimately, it was the environment, players, and fans that made it easy for Roki to choose. Friedman was crystal clear in his stance: there was no tampering or unfair means involved in the Roki Sasaki deal.