Amid the excitement surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki’s recent rehab assignment success, there appears to be another hurdle the young right-hander must conquer.
Sasaki showed an increase in velocity and command in his most recent rehab outing before joining the Dodgers in LA last week, but is now dealing with what manager Dave Roberts called a “calf situation” sustained during the aforementioned outing in Triple-A.
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Dave Roberts said Roki Sasaki’s next outing will again be in OKC. Sasaki had a “calf situation” in the third inning of his last outing that they want to make sure is OK
If that goes well, Roberts said Sasaki could be ready to return to the MLB roster after
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) September 13, 2025
“He wanted to keep going, feels that he needs to keep pitching,” Roberts said. “His delivery is in a good spot. He’s worked his tail off to get back in a good spot which we’re very excited about.”
Sasaki will have another go in Triple-A before a decision is made on if/when he will rejoin the active roster, but his reemergence can present a new dilemma for the Dodgers ahead of the postseason.
The pitching room isn’t the same one that Sasaki was last a part of in May. The starting rotation for LA has been lights out recently and there is no guaranteed spot for the 23-year-old when he returns.
The idea of Sasaki pitching out of the bullpen has been discussed by Roberts, but he noted what a shift in routine that would be for his young pitcher, especially when consistency has been preached to him for quite some time.
“I think that Roki is … in a good place to do whatever it is to help the team,” Roberts said. “That (pitching out of the bullpen) would be something that would be completely odd to him so it would have to be a little bit of a leap of faith on his part as well.
“But I think that he understands how good the starting pitchers are pitching. He just wants to be a part of it. He’s worked really hard to get himself into a position to contribute.”
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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