Despite struggles from Roki Sasaki throughout spring training, the Los Angeles Dodgers have stressed that the 24-year-old would be earmarked for the starting rotation at the start of the season. Sure, spring training stats aren’t always the true measurement of success, but it’s hard to ignore the 15.58 ERA Sasaki has through four starts this spring.

It’s why fans were divided when Dave Roberts revealed the team’s starting rotation to open the season. As it stands, Sasaki is opening the season as LA’s No. 4 starter.

Dodgers rotation order to begin season, per manager Roberts:

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Emmet Sheehan
Tyler Glasnow
Roki Sasaki
Shohei Ohtani https://t.co/1C7fFXyDeb

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) March 23, 2026

If the Dodgers were hoping that the start of the season would mark a shift in Sasaki, they may want to think again. The young starter’s final outing before the regular season was a disaster. Sasaki walked for the first five batters he faced, and showed very few signs of progress.

Sasaki finished his outing by giving up 5 runs on 6 walks and 2 hit batters. He faced only 14 batters, and at no point during the outing did he validate the Dodgers’ decision to include him in the starting rotation.

Things are not going well for Roki Sasaki. He issued free passes to four of the first five batters he faced. Dave Roberts pulled him after his second bases-loaded walk.

— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) March 24, 2026Roki Sasaki’s final spring training start should have the Dodgers second-guessing their starting rotation plans

How the Dodgers have handled Sasaki is odd behavior. There’s no question that he has the potential to be an effective starting pitcher at the major league level. The problem, as was the case last year, is that Sasaki is still in need of some development.

He’s only 24 years old and has all of his minor-league options remaining, so conventional wisdom would have pointed to Sasaki opening the season in the minors with the hope that his development could reach a point where he’s a potential solution for the pitching staff later in the season. Instead, the Dodgers are trying to force the issue despite clear signs that their current plan is not working.

Justin Wrobleski isn’t quite a finished product either, but chances are, at this point in their respective careers, he’s more capable of giving the Dodgers competitive outings than Sasaki.

Short of Sasaki reversing course and having success to open the season, his stay in the rotation will likely be short-lived. Once Blake Snell returns, it’s hard to imagine a path where Sasaki’s spot in the rotation is spared. Maybe then, it will finally click to Roberts and Co. that they need to go about Sasaki’s development differently.