Dodgers exec had succinct response for fans who thought Roki Sasaki deal was assured

The outcry that followed Roki Sasaki's signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers was inevitable, but no less annoying because of its inevitability.

Could it really have been that surprising to opposing fans when all of the items in the Dodgers' "pro" column were so obvious? The team also had a longstanding relationship with him going back to his high school days.

Jim Bowden, one of the most prominent naysayers in the Dodgers' chances of getting Sasaki, even called for MLB to conduct an investigation into whether or not a handshake deal had been made years ago, citing "several front offices that believed there was a pre-cut deal between the Dodgers and Roki Sasaki."

MLB did, in fact, conduct an investigation before Sasaki was even posted, and they failed to find any evidence of impropriety on either parties' end. Sasaki laid out his reasoning for joining the Dodgers during his introductory press conference — the stability of the front office, he felt like he could grow best in LA — and that should be that.

Andrew Friedman also responded to anyone who believed that they had a pre-cut deal with Sasaki, saying on AM570, "You can ask my cardiologist [if we thought we had Sasaki in the bag years ago]."

Andrew Friedman responded to "ridiculous" claims that Dodgers had a secret handshake deal with Roki Sasaki

Former Sasaki teammate and Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel also stoked the flames when he included that he'd heard rumblings about a done deal between Sasaki and the Dodgers shortly after Sasaki was posted.

MLB was just doing their due diligence when they investigated before Sasaki's posting, as they might've actually predicted that fans and journalists were going to try to raise red flags in the event that he ended up in LA. But, clearly, it's all just chatter, and guys like Bowden, who's made it clear that he doesn't want the Dodgers to have anything go their way anymore, are just adding completely unnecessary noise to the rabble.

Sometimes the most obvious thing that could happen just ends up happening. Two-thirds of the league threw their hats in for Sasaki, making his free agency the most contested in years, and by all indications, it was a clean fight all around. Sasaki joined the Dodgers because they have two World Series rings in five years, and they have Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. And that's that.