"So cruel it makes me respect him" - Fans react to Roki Sasaki hinting Dodgers affinity by meeting all prospective MLB teams in Los Angeles 

Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki has grabbed the attention of many MLB teams. In the past week, he's had meetings with the New York Yankees and New York Mets on Thursday and with the Chicago Cubs on Friday. However, fans caught up on one particular detail: all of these meetings were held in Los Angeles.

There have been speculations that Roki Sasaki could be eyeing a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, given the location of recent meetings. Since Sasaki is under 25 and lacks six years of professional experience, he would only be eligible for a minor league contract at this time. However, his agent, Joel Wolfe, has hinted that Sasaki is also considering the possibility of joining a smaller-market team in the 2025 season.

Baseball fans, however, are unable to ignore the specific fact that all the meetings are held in the land of the Dodgers.

"Roki Sasaki making all teams come to LA to meet with him just so he can sign with LA in the end is so cruel it makes me respect him more," one fan said on X/Twitter.

"The location seems like a tell," another fan said.

More fans shared their similar sentiments, talking about how Sasaki might have already made his decision to play for LA:

"Roki Sasaki conducting a fair process by meeting with all interested teams at Dodger Stadium. Needless to say, I approve," one fan mentioned.

"Hes goin to LA," another fan remarked.

"It's the taking place in 'LA' which is a dead giveaway," one fan wrote.

"Are the meetings taking place in Dodger Stadium?" a fan asked.

Philadelphia Phillies reportedly weren't invited for a meeting with Roki Sasaki

Philadelphia Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski revealed on Friday that Roki Sasaki's representatives haven't contacted them to set up a meeting. The Phillies are looking for a starting pitcher, so they expected to be part of Sasaki's running, however, it seems they aren't being considered by him as of now.

"We have not been invited to talk to him at this point. I have to say I’m not making any proclamations because we haven’t been told, but it’s probably running a little bit late if we’re going to be invited to the table," Dombrowski told reporters.

"We sent in our original information to him that was requested. They know that we would very much like to have a presentation. So far, we haven’t been invited to the table," he added.

The Phillies tried to imagine a future where they could see the collaboration of Roki Sasaki and Andrew Painter, however, the reality seems to be a bit far away from that vision. Still, Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe has said that they'll also be meeting more interested teams in the coming weeks, before making a decision.

Do you think Roki Sasaki will end up signing for the LA Dodgers? Which club do you think he should join? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.