The Dodgers have tried. They really have.
They have extended Roki Sasaki chance after chance after chance. They have honored their part of their unspoken agreement with the former Japanese phenom.
Now, with two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell close to being activated from the injured list, the Dodgers have to do what’s right — right for their team but also right for Sasaki.
They have to send Sasaki to the minor leagues.
Maybe something will happen between now and Snell’s anticipated return that prompts the Dodgers to continue starting Sasaki once every six or seven days. He is expected to pitch in another minor-league game before he completes his rehabilitation assignment.
But short of that, Snell’s entry into the Dodgers’ six-man rotation will push someone out, and that someone won’t be Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Tyler Glasnow.
The Dodgers might be inclined to send Justin Wrobleski to the bullpen because of fears his inability to miss bats will catch up to him, but how can they demote the left-hander when he’s posting All-Star numbers?
Wrobleski ended the Dodgers’ four-game losing streak Sunday by pitching six scoreless innings in St. Louis, improving his record to 5-0 while lowering his ERA to 1.25. In the five games he has started, Wrobleski has a 0.56 ERA.
In a fair world, that would leave Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan as the candidates to be dropped. Both of them have been inconsistent, Sasaki with a 5.97 ERA in six starts and Sheehan just a touch better at 5.23.
This isn’t just about who deserves to stay, however. This is also about who would benefit more from a change of scenery, whether it’s in the minors or bullpen, and that’s Sasaki.
Whatever problems Sheehan has encountered, he’s had moments this season when he’s looked like himself. Sasaki hasn’t.
With Sasaki, everything comes down to his fastball — how hard he throws it and where he locates it.
He can throw multiple variations of his forkball, as he did in his most recent start. He can rely on his slider, as he did earlier this season. But without his fastball, he won’t ever be as spectacular as the Dodgers envisioned.
Sasaki more or less said so himself after his start Saturday in St. Louis. The start was his best of the season from a statistical perspective, but he was by no means dominant over the six innings he pitched. He allowed two baserunners in each of the first two innings and gave up three runs in the third. Of how the faster version of his forkball didn’t produce many swings and misses, Sasaki told reporters in Japanese, “Ultimately, it’s something that depends on the fastball.”
His problems with his fastball became noticeable in his final season in Japan, in 2024. He wasn’t able to throw it as hard or locate it as accurately. The troubles followed him overseas.
Without a dependable fastball, Sasaki has relied this season on off-speed pitches to throw strikes, whether it be his slider or splitter.
But those were only short-term solutions — and not particularly effective ones.
Instead of searching for another combination of smoke and mirrors to get him through his next start, Sasaki should look for that something that could make him special in the long run.
He should look to rediscover his fastball.
Considering how little progress he’s made in that department this season, he might as well move to a lower-stakes environment in which concerns over wins and losses won’t force him to work on another pitch between starts.
For what it’s worth, Sasaki has said he would accept a minor-league assignment if the Dodgers think that’s in his best interest.
He said on Saturday of Snell’s impending return: “Someone coming in means someone will have to go out, of course. But I have to focus on my own performances, and the importance of throwing the ball well doesn’t change regardless of the situation.”
In the minors, his focus can narrow from what’s best for the team to what’s best for himself.
The Dodgers chose to open the season with Alex Freeland on their roster and not Hyeseong Kim, who was understandably disappointed. But manager Dave Roberts offered an explanation that made it clear the decision was made with Kim’s future in mind. The Dodgers wanted Kim to play every day in the minors instead of being part of a platoon in the majors. In retrospect, the plan prepared Kim to have the success he is having now.
Economic and political considerations make Sasaki’s case more complicated, but the objective should be the same, which is to place Sasaki on a path to realize his potential. Sasaki has a chance to be special, but for him to take 10 steps forward, he might first have to take one back.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
