The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Roki Sasaki on the 15-day injured list after he was forced to leave his start last Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves due to a blister on his right middle finger.
The blister will not impede Sasaki’s ability to pitch again this season, but the Dodgers will not rush him back in the interest of avoiding possibly making the injury worse.
To that point, the team is not sure exactly how long Sasaki will be out.
There is also the question of what role the 24-year-old will step into once he is activated from the IL. Time is the most important factor, but there are other influences that can inform the Dodgers’ decision, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
“That’s contingent on when he comes back. If it’s the short end, yes. If it’s longer, I think it’s a different discussion,” Roberts said of Sasaki returning to the rotation.
“There’s certainly value in that (an early move to the bullpen). There’s also value at some point – and I don’t know the schedule in the next two weeks, off days and all of that stuff and where starters are going to be – with having him inserted (into the rotation) to give other guys blows. That’s a harder one for me right now to answer that.”
Even before the blister, Sasaki appeared destined for the bullpen in the postseason. That remains the case, barring something drastic happening between now and October, so there is a benefit to acclimating him to the role beforehand.
Sasaki certainly benefitted from it last season between his time rehabbing in Triple-A Oklahoma City and two relief appearances in the Majors at the end of the regular season.
The calculus the Dodgers must figure out is whether that outweighs the rest he can provide their starters collectively down the stretch to put them in the best position for October. Especially with uncertainty continuing to surround Shohei Ohtani’s attempt to pitch again this year.
Roki Sasaki’s bullpen experience
After throwing one scoreless inning in each relief appearance last September, the Dodgers turned to Sasaki in October to help stabilize their bullpen.
He was largely effective, if not electric, in nine postseason appearances. Included in that was three innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Sasaki made MLB history with that performance by not allowing a baserunner in the eighth, ninth or 10th innings of a closeout win.
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