The Los Angeles Dodgers worked to temper expectations after signing Roki Sasaki during the offseason, but their efforts were ill-fated.
Sasaki faced lofty projections, including some that predicted he would become the Dodgers’ latest National League Rookie of the Year winner. He instead encountered some struggles with adjusting to Major League Baseball and suffered a right shoulder injury that put Sasaki’s rookie season in peril.
It was salvaged in part by returning to the Dodgers in a bullpen role, with not only Sasaki benefitting from the change but the team as a whole needing his success.
While he became one of the team’s more trustworthy relievers in the playoffs, general manager Brandon Gomes confirmed the plan is for Sasaki to return to the Dodgers rotation in 2026, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group
Gomes reiterated that Roki Sasaki, one of the starters who emerged as a relief weapon, is “absolutely” going back to the rotation next season.
Sasaki went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA, 6.19 FIP and 1.49 WHIP in eight starts this past season. Opponents hit .225/.351/.411 in those games and Sasaki walked 22 batters across 34.1 innings pitched.
Upon returning from the 60-day injured list during the final week of the season, he made two relief appearances with just one day of rest in between them. Sasaki allowed just one hit and struck out four in a combined two scoreless innings out of the Dodgers bullpen.
He carried that success into the postseason and registered three saves with a 0.84 ERA in nine appearances. Included in that was a heroic three-inning effort against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, during which Sasaki made postseason history.
Dodgers rotation with Roki Sasaki
Even with Clayton Kershaw retiring, the Dodgers are on track to potentially have a surplus of options for their 2026 rotation.
Locks for the group are Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. That would leave the likes of Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan and Gavin Stone competing for the final spot or two, dependent on if the Dodgers will utilize a six-man rotation.
Sheehan and Wrobleski both finished this year pitching out the bullpen, but have been developed as starters. Stone and Ryan are returning from respective surgeries.
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