Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that 23-year-old right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to be on the Wild Card roster, but added, “nothing has been finalized.” The skipper touched on the reasoning for why he wants the young starter-turned-reliever to make the jump to postseason play.
“The way he threw, the big games he’s pitched in before, that’s something I can trust,” Roberts said.
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Dave Roberts says that he expects Roki Sasaki to be on the Dodgers Wild Card roster.
“I expect him to be on the roster. Nothing has been finalized yet.” pic.twitter.com/Vqdy04tAVO
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) September 29, 2025
Sasaki got off to a frustrating start to his MLB career, especially after the extreme praise he received from the baseball world when making his way to North America this offseason. Sasaki had a 2.10 ERA across four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, hurling 505 strikeouts to just 88 walks during his tenure.
After his first eight starts, the right-hander had a 4.72 ERA, showing less fastball velocity and command overall. Through 34.1 innings pitched, Sasaki tossed 24 strikeouts to 22 walks, adding a pair of wild pitches and hitting three batters along the way.
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A shoulder impingement sidelined him for over four months, but towards the end of his Triple-A rehab assignment, something incredible happened to the young pitcher. In between his second to last and his final start, his fastball velocity jumped up over 4 miles per hour. This led the Dodgers to have Sasaki’s final two appearances in Triple-A out of the bullpen.
After Sasaki rejoined the active roster earlier this month, he made two appearances in relief, striking out four, walking zero, and allowing just one hit.
If Sasaki can help out the bullpen at such a critical point in the season — kicking off the postseason with some success against the Cincinnati Reds — he would alleviate a major pressure point that the Dodgers have faced lately on the road to becoming baseball’s first consecutive champions in 25 years.
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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