Roki Sasaki is poised to take the next step toward a return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation by starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki’s first rehab game is going to be Thursday, and the goal is for the right-hander to complete three innings with the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate.
Sasaki is coming off pitching three innings of live batting practice at Dodger Stadium. His velocity topped out at 97 mph during the simulated game that saw Sasaki throw 46 total pitches.
“Got up and down three times, fastball was fine, split was good at times. He accomplished what he needed to,” Roberts said. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to.”
Roberts added the team would wait to see how Sasaki felt before determining what was next. There was some consideration to having Sasaki repeat the extended exercise before beginning his rehab assignment, though that wasn’t necessarily a likely outcome.
“The only reason you would repeat it is if you want to control the situation as far as getting him to 45, 50 pitches,” Roberts noted. “Versus in a rehab start, you’ve got to play by the rules. But that’s more on the training staff and Mark (Prior).”
Sasaki has been on the injured list since May 13. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on June 20 amid a prolonged recovery process from a right shoulder impingement that twice resulted in being shut down.
Sasaki went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA and 1.49 WHIP across eight starts before going on the injured list.
How long will Roki Sasaki be on rehab assignment?
It’s not yet clear how many starts Sasaki will make on his rehab assignment, but he figures to be at least three weeks from a return to the Dodgers.
One certainty is Roberts said the goal is to have Sasaki built up to five innings and 75 pitches prior to getting activated. That could amount to joining the Dodgers once active rosters expand at the beginning of September.
“As a starting pitcher, you’ve got to build up. We want Roki to gain some confidence, some real confidence in taking down 22 hitters, 24 hitters, command the baseball,” Roberts explained.
“And so I really don’t know what that looks like, but what I do know is that we got to get him back to pitching in games and competing. And then I think that in the coming weeks, we’ll know more from there.”
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