Roki Sasaki feels 'no pain' after latest bullpen session: Could he be part of Dodgers' playoff roster?
Sasaki has been on the IL since May with a shoulder impingement
By
Dayn Perry
•
2 min read
Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki has been sidelined since May 9 with a shoulder impingement. With his absence coming up on three months, though, Sasaki appears to be making significant progress toward a return, and a possible change in role, at least for the playoffs, could be in the plans.
Sasaki told reporters on Tuesday that he felt "no pain" in his shoulder following his latest bullpen session and that he's confident about regaining the fastball velocity that he shed as a consequence of the injury.
"I feel better about being able to throw harder, especially because I'm completely pain free," Sasaki said through an interpreter (via ESPN). "With that being said, I do have to just face live hitters and see how my mechanics, you know, hold. Just being consistent; being able to do that consistently."
As for Sasaki's role upon his return and in October -- assuming the Dodgers make the playoffs for a 13th straight year -- it's to be determined. Given the rotation depth in L.A., provided general health, manager Dave Roberts figures to have plenty of flexibility in how he populates and deploys his postseason staff. With regard to Sasaki and a possible bullpen role in the playoffs, Roberts said this on Tuesday:
"I'm going to hold on that one. I do know we're going to take the 13 best pitchers. I've been a part of many postseason rosters, so we're going to take the 13 best pitchers. If Roki is a part of that in some capacity, then that would be great. And if he's not, then he won't be."
While the Dodgers still have a number of injured starting pitchers, Sasaki included, they're as healthy in the rotation as they've been in some time. Left-hander Blake Snell's recent return gives them a six-man rotation, alongside Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Emmett Sheehan. If that abundance holds down the stretch and into the postseason, then Roberts will be free to make such choices involving Sasaki and perhaps others.
As for Sasaki, across the eight rookie-year starts he made prior to suffering the shoulder injury, he's pitched to a 4.72 ERA (89 ERA+) with 24 strikeouts and 22 walks, all unintentional, in 34 ⅓ innings. The sample size is small, but that's well shy of expectations coming into Sasaki's first season in MLB. Sasaki, 23, made the leap after a decorated and dominant four seasons with Chiba Lotte in Japan. Sasaki has ace potential moving forward, but it may be some time before he has an extended opportunity to realize it.
As for the reigning-champion Dodgers, they enter Wednesday's slate of games with a 66-48 record on the season and in first place in the National League West. They lead the second-place Padres by three games.
