Last month, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t seem so confident in Roki Sasaki pitching again this season.
“We have to plan on life without him at least this year, that’s fair to say,” Roberts said last month of the right-hander who went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement in May.
However, a month later, it appears Sasaki is trending in the right direction, and the team even has a target return date for the rookie-right hander.
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When asked for an update heading into the All-Star break, Roberts said Sasaki is pain-free and progressing in his throwing program. Roberts even said he could return sometime in “late August.”
“He threw one (bullpen session recently) and touched 90 (mph), which was great,” Roberts said. “So it’s coming. The bullpens, the lives (live batting practice), then to get out on assignment. So, obviously, sticking to kind of a late August date is where we’re at.”
Sasaki was one of the most sought-after free agents in MLB history given his age, talent and low cost. The Dodgers secured him with their international bonus pool money, essentially giving them a free potential ace for their rotation.
However, Sasaki knew he was a work in progress, and that showed very early on in his MLB career.
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Sasaki made eight starts for the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA. He recorded just 24 strikeouts to 22 walks over 34.1 innings pitched.
The Dodgers didn’t think they would need immediate results from the rookie after signing Blake Snell in the offseason and adding him to a rotation that featured Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and more. However, with a slew of injuries, the Dodgers could have used more out of the 23-year-old pitcher.
Now, Sasaki could be returning to a rotation in six weeks that is significantly healthier than it was before. That would put much less pressure on Sasaki to perform — and that, coupled with his time off, could lead to much better results to close out his rookie campaign.
“He’s stronger than he’s been in quite some time. So he’s in a good spot,” Roberts said. “(His rookie season) is completely different than what any of us expected. But I think it’s what you make of it. So yeah, it hasn’t started the way he would have liked, whether it’s performance, whether it’s health. But I’m hoping he takes this as a learning experience, and knows what it takes to be successful at this level, both physically and performance-wise.”
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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