Roki Sasaki spoke with media on Tuesday for the first time since May 14, which was one day after being put on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement.
Sasaki has faced an extended absence due in part to his rehab process entailing being shut down after initially resuming a throwing program. But the 23-year-old is now well past that point and on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment.
“I feel no pain,” Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton. “Right now, I’m just working on the mechanical part of the game.”
He threw a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, and is scheduled to complete three innings in a simulated game on Friday.
As for the trouble that surfaced in the middle of June, Sasaki downplayed any concern and views it as a learning process.
“I think I just had a better understanding the second time through on where the pain was coming from, and how to make sure the pain doesn’t come back,” he said. “It’s hard to explain to exact mechanical thing I felt, but I just had a better understanding the second time through when I started playing catch.”
Sasaki went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA and 1.49 WHIP across eight starts before going on the injured list. There were flashes of his tantalizing potential that had several teams courting the right-hander, but Sasaki’s fastball velocity also remained lower than his career in Japan.
“I feel better about being able to throw harder, especially because I’m completely pain-free,” he said. “That being said, I do have to face live hitters and see how my mechanics hold and be able to do that consistently.”
Sasaki’s fastball velocity getting back to triple digits is not only going to hinge on health, but also improved mechanics. The prolonged time away has afforded him an opportunity to make changes.
“I think the focus was on the shoulder,” Sasaki noted. “The way it should move versus the way it was actually moving, was different. So it was something I had to really make sure how it actually was moving should match with how it should.
“It’s not 100% right now in terms of the mechanics, but I think it’s in the right direction.”
Roki Sasaki learning from time off
Given some of the growing pains Sasaki endured, the Dodgers have maintained the break in his season will ultimately pay off. It’s a sentiment manager Dave Roberts reiterated on Tuesday.
“I think it’s 100% beneficial. I think it was a big adjustment for him in every way. So to be able to sit back, watch a lot of baseball, which he has done,” Roberts said.
“He’s very in tune with the game. Watching how pitchers attack hitters, how hitters respond to pitches, I think that’s been very helpful for him. It’s gotten him to slow down a little bit, reset and kind of start fresh. I think this break has been very helpful for him.”
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