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The Los Angeles Dodgers made one of the biggest moves of the offseason when the team signed Rōki Sasaki from Japan.
He was a phenom in Nippon Professional Baseball, but Sasaki struggled some early in his MLB career. He had a 4.72 ERA through eight starts, and his velocity was not as advertised. He went on the injured list with a shoulder injury and has been rehabbing in Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Sasaki has started in all of his rehab assignment outings, but the Dodgers may not have room for another starter. LA won’t need a full five-man rotation when the postseason starts, and Dave Roberts announced that Sasaki will pitch in relief during Thursday’s outing, per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
A three-man rotation of Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto may be what the Dodgers roll with through the National League Divisional Series. That means players like Clayton Kershaw, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan and Sasaki may be moving to the bullpen.
If the Dodgers go to a four-man rotation in October, Ohtani, Kershaw and Sheehan would seemingly be ahead of Sasaki in the pecking order. Sasaki has never pitched in relief and moving him to the bullpen is a way to see if he can thrive in that role.
With the news of Kershaw’s impending retirement, Sasaki may be leaned on in the rotation next season. However, right now, his only real path onto the postseason roster is through the bullpen. He will need to prove he can perform in that role.
His rookie season has not gone as many expected, but he may still be able to make a mark in the postseason.
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