Details of Reds' Roki Sasaki pitch further proof that the fix was in from the start

The Reds never had a shot, did they?

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki | Kevork Djansezian/GettyImages

Last month, baseball fandoms from all across the country were fixated on the recruitment of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. While the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres were considered the presumptive favorites, Sasaki's agent maintained that the 23-year-old right-hander would be open to any and all suitors. Yeah, right!

Most MLB experts and those who are in-the-know predicted Sasaki to the Dodgers before he was even posted. Many analysts and beat writers even believed that Sasaki's recruitment was all for show, and that a handshake deal of sorts between the pitcher and the Dodgers was already already agreed upon.

But still, Sasaki's representation maintained that even small and mid-market organizations were welcome to schedule a meeting with Japanese star. His agent, Joel Wolfe, claimed that he thought the mild-mannered Sasaki could perhaps thrive in a smaller market like a Milwaukee, or a Kansas City, or maybe even a Cincinnati.

Details of Reds' Roki Sasaki pitch further proof that the fix was in from the start

But those whispers turned out to be false after Sasaki agreed to join the Dodgers' organization after eliminating the likes of the Padres, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays. Sasaki signed an international deal with LA that brought with it a signing bonus of $6.5 million — some of which was aided by the Cincinnati Reds.

But as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (subscription required) revealed, not only did the Reds and Sasaki fail to schedule a meeting, but Cincinnati was effectively told to get lost. According to league sources who briefed Rosecrans, the Reds were more or less told that any big presentation they made would be a waste of time.

I guess it was nice of Sasaki's representatives to make it clear that he had no intention of signing with the Reds. But it drives home the narrative that former Reds GM Jim Bowden had been clamoring about for weeks — the Sasaki negotiations were not made in good faith.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has dismissed the idea that a private deal between Sasaki and the Dodgers had been reached prior his posting, but this latest revelation makes you wonder, doesn't it?

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