The agent for Roki Sasaki refuted the notion the Japanese starting pitcher already has an informal deal in place with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"While 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, in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship," Joel Wolfe said to The Athletic's Evan Drellich.

When Yoshinobu Yamamoto was coming over from Japan last offseason, the Dodgers were the clear favorites to land him due to two big factors. They needed to upgrade their starting rotation, and more importantly, they were one of the few franchises that had the means to easily meet his massive asking price.

However, Sasaki is a much different case.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed Wednesday the 23-year-old is likely going to be included in the 2025 international amateur class. That significantly lowers the cost to sign him because he'll get a minor league contract and have his overall earnings limited by MLB's international bonus pool.

The Dodgers, for example, have a maximum of around $5.1 million they can distribute to international free agents for the 2025 signing period.

This all presents the chance for a smaller-market franchise to theoretically make a run at Sasaki. You'd think the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds would be aggressive in pursuing the right-hander because an opportunity this good doesn't come along often.

But Sasaki will probably wind up in Dodger blue because the franchise can make a compelling pitch even if it can't offer the best financial package.

Los Angeles just won the World Series and its championship window isn't closing anytime soon. The presence of compatriots Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani in the clubhouse would ease his transition to MLB as well.

There's a reason the Dodgers are believed to be leading the pack and it has nothing to do with a handshake deal.