Los Angeles Dodgers rookie starting pitcher Roki Sasaki has not pitched since May 9 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has been on the 60-day injured list with a shoulder injury ever since.
Sasaki has recently been rehabbing in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Comets. He has pitched four times for Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment. His most recent rehab assignment on Tuesday night, he gave to two, two-run homers for the Comets in the first inning. After that, he settled down his last 11 of 12 batters, including seven in a row. How close is Sasaki returning to the Dodgers or will they potentially shut him down?
Los Angeles Dodgers Roki Sasaki Will Most Likely Get Another Start in Triple-A
Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts appears to be in no rush to bring Sasaki back to the starting rotation with a couple of weeks left in the regular season. Before Sasaki's outing on Tuesday night, he said to Sonja Chen of mlb.com,
"Guys here are pitching well. "I’m not sure what that means for Roki after this one. Let’s just get through this one. Pitch well, [get] healthy, and then we’ll make a decision."
Chen believes that the Dodgers are going to keep Sasaki in the minor leagues for another start. If he does not do well in his next start, it would be interesting to see if they would just forget bringing him back for the 2025 MLB season and wait until 2026 to do so. Roberts also said about Sasaki,
"The velocity needs to be consistent. The strike throwing needs to be consistent. Just having overall command. The focus certainly is different in the big leagues vs. Triple-A, which is totally fair. But I do think that where he’s at, performing and dominating Triple-A hitting is something we should expect."
In eight games pitched during his rookie season, he has a 1-1 record with a 4.72 ERA. In 34.1 innings pitched, Sasaki has given up 29 hits and 18 runs. He has also walked 22 batters and has struck out 34 batters. With command being a major issue for the 23-year-old right-handed pitcher, it would be better for the Dodgers to keep him in Triple-A for the remainder of the season and start him fresh next year.